


Project: Demon Dream

by MayumiWorld



Series: Heart AU [2]
Category: Hoshi no Kaabii | Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anime/Video Game Fusion, Bun is ok with “Tuff” tho, Canon Compliant, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Enemies to Friends, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Ship It, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I promise, I suck at character arcs, Kirby and Zero are roommates, M/M, Marx is an asshole, Memes, Mild Blood, Nicknames, No Sex, No Smut, Nobody is truly evil, Not really 4kids dub, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out Of Character (Won’t happen again hopefully), POV First Person, POV Third Person, Pantsing, Past Child Abuse, Platonic Relationships, Please don’t call Fumu “Tiff”, Post-Kirby Star Allies, Post-Kirby: Right Back At Ya, Rare Pairings, Redemption, Slice of Life, Slow Romance, Smol Zero, Story within a Story, Swords are OP, Tags Are Fun, Tags Contain Spoilers, The premise reminds me of a certain manga, Total chapter count might change, Weekly Updates, Y’all will like Zero after I’m done with this, Zero Needs A Hug, and it’s a reference to another show, but they're really rare, cursing, headcanons, irregular updates, longfic, no beta we die like men, not pedophilia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2020-09-07 13:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 45,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20310418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayumiWorld/pseuds/MayumiWorld
Summary: During the battle against Zero, the hero—Kirby—made a promise to him to be friends once he returns despite his crimes. Reason? Zero has suffered a lot of bad things because he never felt happiness, and he is jealous that he never lived that happy life. Kirby wishes to change it.Years passed, and now Zero returned, albeit very weak. Kirby decided to befriend him, and hopefully, help him feel happy and change him for the better, forming the project in the process.However, somebody is plotting something behind their backs and is attempting to kill all, including the gods. Will Kirby and his friends—old and new—find this someone and foil their plans before it’s too late? Or will reality has to suffer their wrath?





	1. We meet again

**Author's Note:**

> There MIGHT be some Kirby X Zero shipping here, but it’s not the focus. It will expand as the story goes on though, but not to the extent where it gets... romantically explicit. After all, it’s platonic.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby meets a familiar foe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before we begin, a little backstory.
> 
> Why did I decided that Zero of all people would be one of the protagonists alongside Kirby? Because I like him. 
> 
> Why do I like him? Well, long story short, fanfiction. 
> 
> Then why a redemption arc? You may ask. 
> 
> Well, if Dark Matter wanting friends is canon, then why not apply that to Zee-kun over here?
> 
> And then this fic is born. 
> 
> It may not be perfect, but at least enjoy this fluffy (but probably rocky) ride! ;)

What if: you are fighting a demon. A demon who is trying to destroy the world. You left your friends because you just can’t bring them. All except a single friend that is with you this whole adventure.

You fight this demon, and you’re winning. However, as the battle goes on, you hear things that are being told to you. It was from the demon.

You don’t know what they are saying, so you keep on fighting.

Eventually, you learn that it was a cry for comfort.

Turns out, that demon is a lot like you in the past. Cheerful, loving, and curious. Except...

He hasn’t felt peace in his whole life.

The demon just wanted to be loved, but decided to throw that away and become evil when bad things happen with no signs of stopping. Now that person is gone. Gone forever.

Of course, you feel bad for the demon, but here’s the catch: you are forced to kill the demon. You can’t even say sorry. You have to fight knowing that this demon doesn’t deserve this.

Yeah, that is not going to be a great time.

But what if: you get to meet that demon again, but at its weakest? Yeah, he still hates you, but what can you do? You aren’t forced to kill it now that the demon is powerless with limited things he can do to defend himself with, so as the very friendly person you are, you decided to try and befriend it. Hopefully not trying to die in the process.

This is the story about just that. A story about redemption. And possibly some memes.

* * *

Popstar. A bright star-shaped planet that is considered as the ‘brightest planet in the galaxy’.

It is filled with people that live peacefully on this peaceful planet... except for some predators and/or some greedy people, but it is peaceful nonetheless.

One day, at nighttime, a red comet is falling towards the planet. Luckily, it’s just a small one—which is apparently approximately the same size as a certain pink Fluffball—so it probably won’t do much damage. It was pretty late at night so no one bothered to see what it is... because they are all asleep.

The comet fell to a lake, making a big splash in contact. It then slowly floated up to the surface as a small red orb. Coincidentally, said Fluffball came to the lake to retrieve his fishing rod. He then saw the red orb.

“What is that person doing here poyo? Maybe... **oh no!** I have to save him poyo!” Not caring about the fishing rod, the Fluffball quickly swam towards the orb and picked it up. The pink creature—Kirby—carried the thing on his head, and swam back to the surface... somehow.

Kirby decided to check if the creature is breathing. He put his seemingly nonexistent ear to the creature to see if it’s breathing. It isn’t.

Next, he checked how soft the creature is. It seems to be soft as Kirby. So what did he do? CPR for the soft people of course!

He pushed the creature, causing it to spit water from its mouth. He tried it again, same result. He kept doing it until water is gone. Between each push, he exhaled air to the creature’s mouth. Looking closely, it doesn’t seem to have eyes. Kirby didn’t mind, however.

When he is sure that the creature is breathing, he brought it to his house. He put the orb on his bed and covered him up with his blanket.

“I hope you’re still alive poyo.” Kirby said to the creature in worry as he locked the door, climbed the tree that is next to his house, and laid down on the nest.

He closed his eyes, and dreamt all about food and stuff.

It seems like he had forgotten about the incident that happened a long time ago. 

* * *

The sun rose as creatures woke up to play or go to their job place.

Kirby yawned as he stretched his arms. He then got up from the nest, jumped off the tree, and landed on the ground.

He decided to check at that person that he had found last night at the lake. He unlocked the door and see that the red orb is still sleeping. It seems to be comfortable there.

Kirby had a smile on the face, knowing that it’s alive, even though he doesn’t know who it is... or does he?

Looking at it closely, Kirby can’t help but think that he saw that person a long time ago. “When did I saw this little fellow?” He asked himself.

Before he could think even further, the red orb woke up. It looked around its surroundings in confusion with it’s... black round eye. Who would take him in here? The creature asked himself in his mind.

“You’re alive poyo!” Kirby said in happiness that the little orb creature woke up. It is until he looked at it closely as the orb too, stared back at Kirby in confusion.

Suddenly, it clicked.

**“K-Kirby?**” The orb said in confusion.

**“Zero!?”** Kirby said in shock.

Silence.

Awkward silence.

Kirby then searched around the house in panic for the weapon that killed him a long time ago—the Love-Love stick. in his closet and under the bed, everywhere he can think of. Even in the most extreme places like inside the cup for example. Even inside of him too!

Meanwhile, Zero just... stood there. He can’t believe that this Fluffball remembers that incident he caused very clearly even after a long time. He got distracted in his thoughts that he failed to notice that the Fluffball is looking for his only weakness.

Eventually, Kirby gave up. He just can’t find the stick.

“So... what are you going to do?” Zero asked. Kirby just shrugged. He just _doesn’t_ know what to do.

All of a sudden... a growl is heard.

It came from Kirby.

“What was that?” Zero asked in the same deadpan tone.

“I’m hungry poyo.” Kirby explained to him.

After a little bit of silence, someone decided to check Kirby to see what’s wrong.

That someone is orange with a cream-colored face. He has his weapon of choice—a spear—on his back. He wears a blue bandana on his head, thus his name of Bandana Waddle Dee, Or Bandana Dee for short.

“Kirby? Are you ok? I heard you...” Bandana Dee stopped when he saw the red orb. “...screaming...?” He finished his sentence in a confused and scared tone. He does know who that person is, but he is confused because he thought that he is killed once and for all.

“Z-Zero!? B-but I thought...” Bandana Dee said in fear while slowly stepping back.

“...Yep. It’s me.” Zero said nervously.

“Uh...” Kirby doesn’t know what to say, aside for this:

“I-I can explain poyo!”

_ To be continued... _


	2. To explain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby tells the reason why he spared Zero.

_Kirby, Zero, and everybody else belongs to Nintendo, HAL laboratories, and Warpstar inc. the plot however, is mine._

* * *

  
"I-I can explain! You see, I found him at the nearby lake, and took him in without knowing who he is poyo!" Kirby explained to his Waddle Dee friend about the situation of Zero.

"I see." Bandana Dee said. "So... what are you going to do with him?" He then asked.

Silence.

"...I don't know." Kirby shrugged. "It's just... I don't want to kill him poyo." This statement left Zero confused.

"You... don't?" Zero asked in confusion. Kirby nodded in reply.

"Yeah. I said something in the lines of that, but I don't remember why..."

It is until something clicked.

A promise.

A promise Kirby made to be friends with the demon king... if Zero can be called a king anymore.

"I think... I made a promise to you poyo." Kirby said. "Back when I was a little kid... only having limited vocabulary poyo."

"Y-you made a promise?" Bandana Dee asked. "Now you're insane! Do you even know what he did ten years ago!?" He continued with worry in his tone.

Kirby nodded. "Trying to destroy Popstar with no remorse." He said.

"But why are you letting him _live!?_ He has done bad things in the past!" Bandana Dee said in panic.

"I... don't want him to die without him feeling a slight bit of happiness. Yet... I did exactly that." Kirby explained in a sad tone. "But... when I learned that he's immortal, I can't help but wait until the day comes where we met again poyo." He added, but with a hopeful tone.

Silence falls upon them. Except for the growl of Kirby's stomach.

"Umm... shall we go to the castle now? I'm... getting scared." Bandana Dee said in paranoia. Kirby hesitated, but nodded, even though he clearly didn't want to leave Zero behind.

They then left the house. Before Kirby leaves, he sadly waved at the demon in his house. He then shut the door and locked it, just to make sure he won't go out while they're gone. Said demon watched as they left.

Once they left, Zero looks around the house. The first thing that he saw is his reflection. A little red orb with a black spot that acts like an eye. Well... he is an eye. However, he doesn't look like that. He's supposed to have that big white round body that held some of his powers and defense... sorta.

He's very upset, but he decided to keep his calm. After all, whining won't give him his shell back.

The next thing the demon saw is a drawer that is labeled 'do not look'. He decided to take a peak inside, since he didn't care for anyone's privacy anyways. What he saw is a few drawings of him and Kirby. What he didn't expect is the actions of the two in these drawings.

That they are both happy. No consequences. There are some others thrown in, but they are still happy.

Is that what Kirby wanted? Aside from food?

'Interesting.' Zero thought. But he doesn't seem to be interested with the friendship thing anymore.

After all, he _threw_ that wish of happiness out of the window a long time ago.

"I don't care about it anyways. It only leads to tragedy later on." Zero said to himself. He wanted to believe that... but something tells him that this is not always the case.

After all, how did Kirby live in this harsh world where monsters of all kinds are targeting the planet? Does he feel sad? Of course he does, he's not a machine. But how can he be so... happy? Innocent? Even wanting to befriend him? With all of these attacks, Kirby should have lost his innocence a long time ago. Yet... he didn't.

Zero looked at the door. Maybe he could just... go with him? Something tells him that it's all going to be worth it.

To finally feel that emotion that he never felt.

To grant that one wish that he threw away a long time ago.

He has decided. He is going to find Kirby.

Zero looked at the closed door and without a second thought (and because he doesn't know how to properly open doors), he tackled the door, breaking it in the process. He didn't care if something is destroyed. After all, he's a planet destroyer and nothing can change that despite picking that aforementioned wish back up again.

* * *

While Zero is looking for the two, Kirby and Bandana Dee are walking all the way home. Bandana Dee still can't believe that Kirby decided to spare a literal demon king. While Kirby is thinking of what to do. He didn't expect his return. At all.

Of course, there's Zero Two, but he's not the real thing. Rather, a clone of the original. Nobody knows how they cloned a literal demon, but it happened anyways. It didn't matter though.

The two decided to sit under a tree to take a rest. Possibly because of the unexpected return of Zero. They have a lot to take in.

"So... have you decided of what you are going to do with Zero?" Bandana Dee asked.

Kirby seems like he made up his mind, but before he got to say anything, both of them hear rustling from the bushes.

"Did you hear that?" Bandana Dee asked. Kirby nodded.

Kirby and Bandana Dee listened closely, prepared to fight whatever that thing is.

What came out of the bushes is a familiar red orb. It's Zero, who decided to sneak up to them both for no reason whatsoever except to probably give them a scare.

"Ahh!" Kirby and Bandana Dee screamed in surprise. It seems like Zero's plan worked.

"Oh, it's just you." Bandana Dee said in relief... until he realizes exactly who is he talking to.

Kirby and Bandana Dee stared at the red orb in confusion.

"How did you get out of my house? I swear I locked it!" Kirby asked.

"Simple, I broke it." Zero answered in a sarcastic way. It earned some weird looks of the two.

"...What have you done?" Bandana Dee said under his breath.

"I... guess it's time for me to repair it again, it seems." Kirby sighed. Zero tilted in confusion, and Kirby seem to notice that.

"You see... fangirls and fanboys break my door occasionally so they can meet me." Kirby said, while sweatdropping.

That caused the demon to realize that he's somewhat a celebrity in Popstar. Probably because he defeated him, which is impressive, the demon would admit.

And probably because he's cute. He doesn't want to admit it, but he can agree to the mortals that yes, Kirby is indeed cute.

"Yeah. I think I can see why." Zero said without thinking. That made Kirby blush in embarrassment.

Wait, did Zero just subconsciously compliment his supposed killer?

_To be Continued..._


	3. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The king talks about something.

_ Dream Palace _

“So... I got some bad news.” A penguin king who is in a royal attire announced to the loads of different creatures that Kirby befriended during the years. “You know Zero, do ya?” He asked. Some shivered in fear upon hearing the name, while others shrugged and are confused of why some are shivering.

“Uhh... who’s Zero?” A spider-like creature with six floating arms and no feet (making it _not _a spider) and a hairdo which looks like a silver helmet, raised one of his floating hands and asked.

“Good question Taranza.” The king said. “You see, there are creatures called Dark Matter that attacked Popstar a decade ago. You should’ve known that, right?” The spider creature—Taranza, nodded upon hearing that from the (self-proclaimed) king.

“I see... but what about that Zero fellow?” Taranza then asked.

“He’s the leader of those dark creatures that I mentioned. The _mastermind_ behind that attack from _ten years ago!”_ The king explained dramatically. Everyone gasped in result.

“Kirby did kill him, but this is where the bad news starts. He somehow returned, like he wasn’t killed in the first place!” The king added dramatically. Everyone gasped, and it’s louder than before.

“Y-you’re telling me, _that _Zero returned!?” An elf (whose ears are not pointy) who is wearing a green one-peice said in shock. The king sadly nodded.

“S-So what are we going to do?” A pink octopus with a big red ribbon said. “I’m getting scared!” She added.

Bandana Dee then ran through the door, apparently overhearing the conversation.

“W-well... Kirby decided to take him in.” Bandana Dee said. Everyone gasped, louder than before.

“B-But... _why!?” _A hooded creature that apparently floats with two floating hands, asked in shock.

“Kirby made a promise to Zero to be friends if he returns one day. And that day came, and it looked like he hasn’t forgotten it.” Bandana Dee explained.

That’s when the people in the palace realized, this isn’t the first time that that happened. Kirby decided to befriend _Marx _of all people, which, mind you, tricked Kirby so he can _take over the world!_ And despite this, he’s _in the room!_ And he’s not the only one!

Anyways, the speech then continued until they decided to leave Kirby alone with his new friend, and hope that Zero doesn’t kill Kirby. Or any evil ‘friend’ killing him before Zero does.

“He’s weak anyway, he can’t do anything to hurt him. That is, unless he has powers even in that form or if he has a weapon.” A slender girl with big blue eyes, said.

And that, the speech is done. Everyone goes back to do what they do best.

And Kirby? He’s sleeping with Zero under a tree. Except Zero isn’t asleep. He’s thinking of what he is going to do next.

He moaned as he instead looked at the sky with a bored expression.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends the introduction phase! Now here is where the story really begins. However, I am wondering: I’m going to introduce a new character that is going to be in the main team. Is it ok if it’s going to be just four? Or can I add like... 5 new characters (that includes the new character that is not introduced yet in this writing) in the main team?


	4. Beginning of a Project

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandana Dee meets a fan of his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NAME CHANGE NAME CHANGE 
> 
> Yes, you read it right, the name of this fanfic HAS change from “Colors of the Wind” to “Project: Demon Dream”. 
> 
> Reason? Because the old name doesn’t hold significance. Even later on to the story. It technically does, but the Wind part doesn’t. 
> 
> Why did I change it to “Demon Dream”? Find out in this chapter!

A green teardrop-shaped creature walked on the streets of Cappy town. She is a creature called a Beanbon. This particular one travels the world.

The Beanbon decided to build her tent at an open place near the town. Why did she bother to put it here, it’s because there is no good place to put a tent at the town.

After that, she decided to go on a walk. So far, the townsfolk are very nice. Well... with a few exceptions. But it doesn’t matter.

The Beanbon decided to go to the castle and see if Kirby is there. She is a _big_ fan of Kirby, after all.

When she entered, she saw a bandana wearing Waddle Dee. The Beanbon decided to ask him.

“Hello! Uhh... d-do you know Kirby?” The Beanbon asked.

“Yeah!” Bandana Dee nodded. “He’s my friend after all. What do you want with him?”

“Um, I-I want to meet him, t-that’s all.” The Beanbon said, stuttering more than usual.

“Um, I’m sorry but... he’s gone somewhere. He uhh...” Bandana Dee trailed off when he realized that he is about to mention Zero. “He um... got a new friend, and he’s uhh... showing him around!” Bandana Dee added. He doesn’t like to lie, but he doesn’t want the little Beanbon to know that Zero returned. So, he half-lied. Even though he still doesn’t trust the demon.

“Oh, o-ok.” The Beanbon frowned as she walked out of the castle.

“W-Wait!” Bandana Dee yelled. “I can help you find Kirby!” He then rushed towards the Beanbon.

“But, how about your job?” The Beanbon asked.

“Don’t worry about it, great king lets me go a break everytime!” Bandana Dee answered.

“But-” “This thing’s also my house, so I’ll be fine!” The Beanbon is about to say something, but is cut by Bandana Dee seemingly knowing what she is about to say. “What are you waiting for? Let’s find Kirby!” He added as he lead the Beanbon to where Kirby is.

_ Meanwhile... _

Zero is sitting under a tree as Kirby is training with Meta knight today. He doesn’t let Zero join, but Zero understands that Meta knight won’t let him join. After all, who would want to fight with a demon? Zero looked at the knife that he found along the way, and sighed sadly.

He then spotted a nearby tree. It got him an idea. If he can’t train here... then he’s going to train there! Well, that is, if that tree isn’t alive.

He poke the tree with the knife, and nothing happened. It would have been interesting if the tree _is _alive—well, all trees are, but what he thought is a tree that actually moves. Luckily, it seems like this one isn’t like that.

He looked at the knife, with the blade reflecting his... face, and started slicing the tree.

* * *

Bandana Dee and the Beanbon finally made it through the forest. They saw Kirby training with a masked creature who is apparently in the same species as him, but are not related.

However, what caught the Beanbon’s eye is that red orb who is just slicing a tree. Zero realized that he is being watched, and stopped slicing the poor tree altogether.

The Beanbon just stared at Zero, not knowing who he is. She just... stared at him in confusion.

“Um... what are you doing here?” The Beanbon asked.

Before Zero can even answer, the tree fell on top of him, smashing him to the ground in the process.

“Ouch!” Zero yelled. The Beanbon sweatdropped.

“Shall we help him?” Bandana Dee asked.

_ Later... _

The Beanbon panted as Zero is now free. Although he does have a big bump that might last for a long time. Luckily, the Beanbon is a medic, and healed him quickly! She is still tired of all of that pushing though.

“So... *pant* what is your name?” The Beanbon asked while panting 

“...it’s Zero.” He hopes that it doesn’t give it away.

“Oh, I see.” The Beanbon said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Zero tried to destroy Popstar a long time ago. “I... don’t have a name, so y-you may call me b-Beanbon.” She introduced.

“I also don’t have a name, so you can call me Bandana Waddle Dee! Or Bandana Dee for short.”

Silence.

“So uhh... what do you want to do?” The Beanbon asked.

“I guess we shall wait until Kirby finished his training I guess.” Bandana Dee suggested.

And so, they waited until Meta knight leaves Kirby when they are done. 

_Later..._

**“Oh**** my gosh ****Oh my gosh Oh my gosh Oh my gosh OH MY **_**GOSH!”** _The Beanbon yelled as she fangirled towards Kirby. “I can’t believe Kirby is in front of me right now!”

“T-Thanks! I-It’s a pleasure to meet you poyo! N-now could you please get away from me?” The little Fluffball said as he tried to push the Beanbon away. “You’re suffocating me poyo!”

All of this made Zero feel used. Like... he just followed the two to Kirby, and now she’s squeezing towards him. Zero knows that they didn’t talk to each other a lot, but he still can’t help but feel like that’s the case. The Beanbon seem to realize this.

“Um... Zero?” She asked. Zero looked at the Beanbon. “I-I’m sorry about that. Well... it’s just that I squee when I see Kirby!” She said. “I-it doesn’t mean that I abandoned you. I-it’s just... Kirby is so cute!” The Beanbon said while blushing.

“...That’s reassuring.” Zero said.

“So uhh...” Kirby began to speak. “You met her while you’re training?” He asked. Zero nodded. “And she helped you?” He added.

“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?” Zero asked.

“Wrong? Well, the fact that you didn’t thank me, of course!” The Beanbon said, but not in a mad tone that Zero expected. Instead, it’s more like... surprised.

“Uh, So Umm... t-thanks?” Zero, not knowing what to say, just forced himself to say it.

“Um... I’m sorry, but he doesn’t know his manners since he’s uhh... r-raised at t-the streets... p-poyo.” Kirby lied, almost forgetting his tic. “I don’t think he grew with love, peace, and... friends... only violence.” He looked at Zero upon saying the last two words. It looks like Zero is about to cry. “He’s... he’s alone for all of his life.” He added. This time, it was truth.

“Yeah.” Bandana Dee added from Kirby’s. “W-We just found him when he doesn’t have a place where he calls home.” He added in a sad tone. As if, he is starting to understand why Kirby helped the demon in the first place.

“I see.” The Beanbon said, feeling pity towards the red orb. “Just thinking of growing without peace and love... and friends, makes me want to hug him. But I can’t, because I don’t have arms.” The Beanbon added.

‘You caught me at the first half, not going to lie.’ Zero thought to himself.

“So... how about we make him enjoy things? That’s a promise that I made to him when... I-I found him!” Kirby added, almost mentioning the fact that they met before when the Fluffball is just a child. “Also, I thought of this as some sort of project of sorts from the time that I found Zee-kun over here, so why not make it project... uhh...” Kirby trailed off as he realized that he does not have a name for the project.

“Oh, that’s great.” Bandana Dee said in a disappointed manner. “Just jumping to things that you didn’t even prepare for without a second thought!” He added in a angry tone.

“S-sorry! I just can’t even!”

“A-anyways, I could agree that it is some sort of project to make him feel at home! But... you haven’t thought of the name?” The Beanbon said.

They thought and thought, but nothing came. Something that doesn’t show Zero’s true identity, but still suits him regardless.

They are about to give up. That is until...

“Uh, I have a suggestion” Zero said. “H-how about... ‘Demon Dream’?” He expected for people to accept the name without question, But instead, he got some weird looks from the three. Kirby and Bandana Dee because the demon just showed that he is... well, a demon, and the Beanbon because there is the word ‘demon’ on it.

However, the Beanbon’s assumption got the other three out of this awkward mess.

“Well... he is like a demon so... I guess that’s acceptable.” The Beanbon said. “But how about the ‘dream’ part?” She asked.

Despite being a great manipulator, he actually does not know what to answer besides the truth. He chose ‘Dream’ because his ‘dream’ is to have someone to actually care for him. Well, technically that’s a desire, but for him, it’s just a dream that won’t become true no matter how hard he tried.

He had no choice but to say it, and he did. Everybody accepted it and then, it is now chosen.

“So, Project: Demon Dream it is!” Kirby announced.

** _“YEAH!”_ **

The truth is that... the demon still hates the Fluffball. In fact, he was about to use the knife at him once he is alone. But instead, those two stopped him from doing so. Just because one is a fan of the pink fluff.

It was weird that a big difference happened just because a small change. If that Beanbon never intervened, Kirby might have been dead.

It was also weird that Zero is _supposed_ to be disrespectful to others who are not Dark Matter. In fact, he technically is the _leader _of Dark Matter.

He was supposed to be the one who commands the ones who are with him, and they will listen to that command without question.

Since he now lives in a world where slavery is seemingly non-existent and teamwork exists in it’s place, he needs to adjust for this project to work.

He is _forced _to. Because Kirby is doing him a _favor._

_He _is the reason that this project exists. _He _started it.

He can’t kill them now... despite still hating the Fluffball.

All he needs, is a fresh new start.

Meanwhile, Meta knight watched from the trees, seemingly approving of this development. A new friend, and a new goal.

To make Zero feel in peace for once. That’s the goal of the project.

_ To be continued... _


	5. The Bunny Bakery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero eats cake. Out of character ensues.

_ Space _

In a blue boat-shaped ship, there is a floating creature wearing a blue hood, and apparently has cat ears. This is Magolor. He is currently looking around when the boat-ship’s radar picked up something.

“Huh? What is it Lor?” Magolor asked the boat-ship who is apparently sentient. He then check the monitors.

“Hmm... ‘detected unkown substance in Popstar?’” Magolor read the text that is on the screen. “I’ll probably check it out.” He then set the next course to Popstar.

And, the Lor started moving towards the star-shaped planet.

_ Popstar _

The four friends decided to walk around town, giving the Beanbon and the demon a little tour. The Beanbon is fascinated by the stuff while Zero is the complete opposite. Considering the fact that he still cannot feel happiness, that is a given.

Eventually, they reached the bakery (that is built a few months ago) that is ran by a pink rabbit.

The interior is modern, with a dash of pinks somewhere. At the end, there is the cashier, ran by the aforementioned rabbit.

“Welcome to the Bunny Bakery!” The bunny said. Zero isn’t afraid to say that it’s a generic name for a bakery. “It’s too generic.” he said.

“I know.” The rabbit said while sweatdropping. “I’m just bad at naming. Anyways, what do you want?” She added.

Kirby chose his favorite strawberry shortcake.

Bandana Waddle Dee chose apple pie.

The Beanbon chose tea-flavored ice cream (yes that exists)(do bakeries sell ice cream?).

And Zero? Apparently he can’t read.

“Um, Kirby? Can you read?” Zero asked. Kirby nodded and showed him the menu.

“Here is the ice cream part, there’s the sundae part, that is the cake part, and this is the rankings for most popular!” Kirby explained.

“Then... what is the most popular?” Zero asked.

Kirby read the rankings. “Umm... chocolate cake!”

“Ok. How about chocolate cake?” Zero ordered.

“Ok! Got all of your orders! Just wait for your order, they’ll come eventually!” The rabbit said as she ran to the kitchen to bake.

“Z-Zero? You know that you can’t eat, right poyo?” Kirby said, confused about the demon’s actions.

“I... don’t know.” Zero answered.

He thought of reasons of why he did it. Maybe it’s to blend in. After all, he can’t go killing people. Kirby gave him another chance to change after all. Maybe it’s because he wanted to know if he can eat. He may not have a mouth, and may not need it anyway, but he’ll probably find a way. He might give it to Kirby if he can’t.

“If I can’t eat it, then you eat it.” Zero said to Kirby in a sarcastic manner. Kirby nodded with a drool on his mouth.

They then moved to the table.

“Why is she the only one working here?” Zero asked.

“Yeah, she might have been tired of all of this baking!” The Beanbon said.

“I... honestly don’t know.” Kirby answered.

‘So there _are_ some things that the mortals don’t know about others.’ Zero thought.

Eventually, the rabbit finished baking, and gave the four their orders.

The three started eating. Kirby sucking them all up while the others ate normally.

However, Zero is simply staring at the chocolate cake. He doesn’t know if he wanted to eat it or not.

He ate it anyway with his iris, and he was met with...

...A feeling that he never felt before.

It’s like... the taste was so great that he wanted to eat more. He kept on eating and eating until it’s all gone. And it’s just a slice, so he did the obvious.

“Another one please!” Zero immediately said after he ate.

“But-”

**“** **S̸͏̶̧H͢͠Ų͠T̸̸̢͘͢ ̡͡͏̵U̸͝͏̧P̷̢ A̷͝N͏͢D̶̕͟͡ ̷̛̀͡G̸̵I̵̸̵̧V́͠Ȩ̸̕͜͠ ̶̡̧̨M̡͟͢͝É̶͜͝ ͏̵͠T̶͞͏͡H̨̢͜͢E͜͠͝ ̕͜C̡͞A̴̷̵̕͠K̢̀͢E̷̵!̕” **

“...”

Suddenly, all of the people in the bakery are quiet. Nobody expected the demon to yell with the voices of all of his victims that he killed instead of the young teenage boy that Kirby and his friends are used to. Heck, they _forgot _that it sounded like that!

“W-What was that?” The Beanbon said in shock.

“I don’t know lil’ Beanbon, But it just seems like he wanted to eat cake.” Kirby answered.

“O-ok” The rabbit said in as mix of nervousness and gratefulness in her voice.

When the cake came, Zero ate it quickly. Kirby and his friends are shocked that he just ate the cake quickly as Kirby can. As if he had the inhale ability. Even though he doesn’t.

“I... I think you’ve got a competitor at eating.” Bandana Dee joked, resulting to Kirby giving him the WTF face.

“B-But still, t-that voice...” The Beanbon said in fear.

_ Later... _

After all of the chaos of chocolate cake and multiple voice syndrome... ish, they decided to leave. At the same time, the Lor landed on Popstar. Kirby and friends saw it.

“What is that ship?” Zero asked.

“I think that’s the Lor. An ancient transportation device that is rumored to be sentient.” The Beanbon said. “But what is it doing here?” She then asked herself.

Kirby looked around and saw Magolor with some sort of device, seemingly looking for something.

“Look! It’s Magolor!” Kirby yelled to his friends. “Hey Magolor!” He then called to the Halcandrian.

Magolor heard Kirby’s call. “Hey Kirby!” He said while waving.

The four ran towards Magolor.

“So... who are you, and why are you here?” Zero asked.

“Well... I’m here to find some mysterious substance somewhere in Popstar! It should be around... Whispy Woods!” Magolor said as the device beeped when pointed at said woods.

“Come on gang, let’s g- wait a minute, I didn’t introduce myself!” Magolor suddenly stopped as he realized that he forgot to introduce himself to the new guys.

“I’m Magolor! A friend of Kirby and this Waddle Dee over here!”

“Don’t have a name, but call me Beanbon.”

“Zero.”

“Ah, I see! Nice to meet you!” Magolor said. “Now let’s get back at track.”

And so, they ran towards the forest to find this... ‘mysterious substance’.

_ To be continued... _


	6. A Recorder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby & friends decided to rest. Zero gets a gift from the one who trusts him the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, with first person views! It isn’t the first time I did this. 
> 
> Let’s just see how well I can do.

Kirby and friends followed Magolor to the forest, still looking for the object that they don’t know what it was.

Eventually, the five are tired, so they decided to sit down and talk.

They firstly talked about normal things, trying their best not to reveal Zero’s true identity from the Beanbon. However, they ended up telling the story of how Magolor and Kirby met, and the former’s betrayal. A little bit after that however, the Beanbon fell asleep, it is now ok to talk about... other things. Bandana Dee shoved her far from hearing range. 

_ Zero’s POV _

“So... you got something?” The Halcandrian said. We shook our heads at once. We don’t have anything to say. Not even I do. “Oh... I see.” He added in a depressed tone.

“I guess I could just talk about this little demon then.” The Halcandrian said, pointing at me. I was confused. Why does he want to talk about me? How does he know my identity? He seems to notice this.

“Well, King Dedede arranged a meeting that talked about your return, and I’m in that meeting!” The Halcandrian said. I was shocked at that, but was confused at the same time. Who is this Dedede person? “Also, even before that, Kirby told me about you.” He then added.

“R-really?” I asked the Fluffball. He nodded. He really have some guts, I would admit. However, it doesn’t answer my question.

“Who is this ‘Dedede’ person?” I asked.

“That penguin king that your minion possesed twice poyo.” The little Fluffball is the one to answer. Right, _that_ Dedede. I thought he died by casual means due to his greediness, but apparently, he didn’t.

Actually, why did I think that even though I can see literally _everywhere_ as the nothingness itself?

My thoughts are disturbed when the Waddle Dee decided to speak.

“But... why would you even spare him anyway? You do know what he did, right?” He asked to Kirby. 

“I told you that before, I made a promise poyo!” Kirby said.

“You never told me what it is.” Bandana Dee argued.

Silence. I was taken back.

“...It’s that... I want to be friends with Zero poyo.” Kirby answered.

Right... that incident.

“Oh, I forgot! Hey Zee-kun, I bought you this poyo.” The Fluffball said as he gave me a... black device with some buttons.

I looked at it in curiosity. I am not sure of what it is, so I looked at his blue eyes. And asked “What is this?”

“That’s a recorder poyo. You can say something and it records it here poyo! I got the new model so it saves multiple recordings poyo! It means that you can hear your older recordings and stuff! You can delete some if you want to though.” He explained.

I didn’t see them, but the Waddle Dee and the Halcandrian watched us as Kirby taught me about this... recorder.

I decided to give it a try. I pressed and hold the red button and said things at the mic. 

“Testing... testing...”

After I’m finished, I let go of the button.

“Don’t worry Zee-kun, I won’t listen to this thing. It’s yours after all! You can do whatever you wanted with that thing.” Kirby explained to me. I’m relived.

But... I’m confused.

“W-why are you so... kind to me? Y-you do remember what I did to all of you, do you?” I asked.

“W-well, yeah... but... but I want you to experience peace for once. I know that you technically can’t, but I want to break that! I want you to feel genuine happiness!” Kirby explained. “In short, I want to be with you. So you can feel peace for once. I want to be your friend.” He added.

I was shocked. I never expected him to say that to... _me _of all people. I never had friends. Only enemies.

“I... never expected that. Thanks... I guess.”

_ Third person _

The Beanbon is waking up. Everyone seems to notice it. It’s time to go.

“Come on, let’s go gang!” Magolor said as he floats. Everyone else followed.

“Wait, you said that you won’t listen to his recordings, right?” Bandana Dee asked Kirby.

“Poyup!” Kirby answered.

“Are you sure you’re serious?”

“Yup!”

Bandana Dee is now worried.

“B-But what if he is planning his revenge against you and h-he’s just p-pretending to be your friend?” Bandana Dee nervously said.

They watched Zero as he said something in the recorder.

_“So I got this thing, and I can’t belive I’m going to say this but... it seems suspicious. Magolor _did _some bad stuff after all._

_Well, I did at the past. I still hate Kirby, but I’m trying my best to hide it. After all, he is doing me a favor._

_But I don’t think I can do this anymore. I still don’t like to be in this state of helplessness. _

_Should I?”_

Zero stopped recording. He then followed Magolor to wherever he is going. 

_ To be continued... _


	7. Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little out of hand when the Beanbon is scared.

Magolor and his crew are walking in the deeper parts of the forest. They are walking for who knows how long.

Zero just wanted to fight. He hasn’t done a fight ever since a long time ago. His shell might be gone, but at least he has his knife.

He has been itching for a fight. He just wanted to kill again. He wanted to go back to the old days where he tried to destroy everything.

He still is planning that, but he has to wait for his shell to come back. He is going to gain their trust, and the moment he gets his shell back...

<strike>Oh yes, a betrayal.</strike>

But still, he just wanted to fight.

Now that he thought about it, is this going to help him find happiness? Of course it will.

His thoughts are disturbed when the group heard rustling. The quintet stopped and pulled out their weapons. Well, some of them. Others just raised their guard.

It’s a bunch of Chips and Waddle Dees! They got ambushed!

‘Finally! A fucking fight!’ Zero thought.

Kirby sucked some and spat them back at others, Bandana Dee charged with his spear, Zero sliced with his knife, Magolor did his magic, and Beanbon...

She is just hiding.

“What the fuck are you doing!? Get over here and fight!” Zero yelled in anger.

“I-I **can’t!” **The Beanbon yelled.

“But... fine. Just go and fucking hide.” Zero is about to force her to, but he has to consider that they are _not_ Dark Matter.

After all of the Chips and Waddle Dees are killed, they decided to continue on.

“Hey Dee,” Zero nudged the Waddle Dee. “Why did you have to kill your kind?” He asked.

“We didn’t actually kill them. All weapons, including your knife, have a special substance that can make it seem like you killed them, but in actually, it just sends the soul back here somewhere.” Bandana Dee explained.

Zero then looked back at the Beanbon, Kirby talking to her about why she didn’t want to fight. Albeit, in a soft way, instead of the rude way he did. He listened to the two to see what they are talking about.

He is confused about her scared. Even if he told her to go to battle, she is _that _scared that she cannot fight. Why did she go with Kirby anyway in this adventure when she is scared to fight anyway? He wanted to ask her that, but for now, he had to listen.

“I... I just don’t like to kill people. Or even seeing people killed at all! Um, well, I-I know that I’m a big fan of you Kirby, b-but it’s not because of you eating people, e-even though they are going to be ok at the end!” The Beanbon stuttered.

Kirby looked at her emerald eyes, as if feeling bad for her. This confused Zero, but at the same time, annoyed him. Why is Kirby feeling bad for the Beanbon, who didn’t even fight in the first place? 

“Yeah... witnessing Dark Matter killing people for real scared you.”

The Beanbon is shocked about this. Zero too. He didn’t know such attack affected people for this long. He expected for people to forget about the attack since it’s a long time ago.

But why is the Beanbon shocked? Is it because she never mentioned it once?

“A-Am I right poyo?” Kirby asked, worried that he might have offended her.

Yeah, that might be it.

“I get it. You witness my- I mean—them, just killing people brutally in many different ways.” Zero said. The Beanbon nodded, albeit slowly. “Well, I have advice, but take it with a grain of salt.” Zero decided to say. Everyone paused.

The demon took a deep breath. “Fear is an emotion that everyone feels. I might have been mad at you for being scared, but... it might have been because I’m blinded by the fight itself. Also, it’s just some Waddle Dees.” Zero explained. At this point, Magolor decided to put his device away to listen. “Everyone felt fear at some point. When you’re a kid, a baby, or even as an adult. However, like Kirby here, you can put it aside and well, you can do everything, mostly. If you’re too scared, it _will _blind you, in a way.” He added.

He tried his best, since he hasn’t given advice to a mortal—or anyone—before. He said to “take a grain of salt” because of this very reason.

“T-thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” The Beanbon said.

And thus, they continued. Zero decided to bring out his recorder.

_“It’s weird that mortals can be scared, even in that age. That Beanbon look powerless, but unlike Kirby, she might have really been. Why did this Beanbon come with us anyway? I better ask her that later after she calms down._

_“Speaking of scared, when is the last time I was afraid? Right._

_“That one time when the Crystal Crayons are about to break._

_ To be continued..._


	8. Separated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go wrong when rocks fell. Don’t worry, they’ll find a way with no consequences. Right?

The forest is a beautiful place. The leaves of the trees are a lush green, with the grass also being lush green.

The sunlight passed through the leaves, leaving spotlight-like things to be seen.

There also some Bronto Burts flying around here and there. Sometimes, you can hear a birdsong. And it is peaceful.

Magolor and the group walked towards a cliff. Apparently, they have to get up there in order to find the mysterious substance.

Kirby decided to carry Zero on top of his head and fly. Luckily, the demon is light so he was easy to carry, much to the Fluffball’s shock.

Bandana Dee decided to carry the Beanbon. However, she trained herself to fly spinning her leaves on her head like a helicopter, so she was fine. Bandana Dee is amazed by this, forgetting that he can do that too using his spear.

Magolor? Well... he can float, so naturally he can fly.

While flying, Zero looked around. He hasn’t flown like this for a long time. The breeze hitting him, and the fact that he is not on the ground, it was very relaxing after being on the ground for literal hours. He did fly around the cosmos as long as time after all.

It isn’t the same experience though, since it was way too slow for his liking.

“Could you go any faster?” Zero asked in an annoyed tone. Kirby is trying to say something to him. The demon didn’t know what he is saying, but his guess is that… this is the fastest that he could go. It was too bad, but he can wait.

Eventually, they reached at the top of the cliff. There are some floating domes with a star inside. Each dome holds a different colored star with a picture of something inside.

“They’re copy essences. These things give me an ability if I can’t find something to absorb.” Kirby explained to Zero. “They usually appear when there is something big is going on next.” He added, walking towards a dome that has a green star that has a picture of a sword on it.

He took it, and suddenly gets a Santa-like green hat and a sword. Kirby is now Sword Kirby.

They then walked to the next room when they suddenly heard a rumble coming from somewhere.

“R-r-**ROCKS ARE FALLING!!!”** The Beanbon yelled on top of her lungs as boulders fell.

“Rocks are **WHAT!?” **Bandana Dee yelled.

Panicked, the group tried to dodge the boulders, but after it cleared, they were separated to Kirby and Zero on one side, and Magolor, Bandana Dee and Beanbon are at the other.

“Are you guys ok?” Magolor asked.

“Yeah! Just got a bit hurt but we’re fine!” Kirby said.

“We are separated. Could we just climb this pile of rocks?” Zero asked.

Bandana Dee then took a close look at the boulders. “No. It’s too dangerous! They might fall! Kirby, can you float?” He then asked.

Kirby shook his head, not thinking that no one at the other side are seeing it. “I can’t float poyo! I’m too tired!”

“So it seems like we better find another way around this.” Zero said.

“Yeah. You’re right.” Magolor said.

And so, they decided to separate.

_ Zero’s POV _

“Great. Now what are we going to do!?” I yell in frustration. We have been separated, and I am forced to follow that darned Fluffball!

“Don’t worry, this path is linear, so we will eventually meet them!” Kirby reassured with his obnoxious voice.

He then went, as if he forgot about my existence. “W-Wait for me!” I yell.

I cannot hold my hatred Kirby anymore. I cannot handle this shit. I cannot handle waiting all of us to be reunited so we can find that darned Crystal Crayon!

So we just ran through the forest and shit and slaying Waddle Dee and Chips and bear-like creatures that are apparently called ‘Grizzlies’, or ‘Grizzly’ as its singular form. Kirby swung his sword, while I used my knife.

As we continued on, we eventually reach an empty space. We decided to rest here. Except I didn’t.

I decided to kill the Fluffball _here and now. _

“Hey Fluffball.” I say.

“What?” He asked.

“Have you wondered how much I hated you?”

“No. Why are you asking me this?”

_ 3rd Person _

Magolor, Bandana Dee, and the Beanbon are going through the trees and some enemies, trying to find Kirby somewhere.

Luckily, the forest has a linear path with some split ways here and there, so they will eventually find each other without them being lost. That is, if they don’t go _too _far from the path.

Eventually, they reached the place where the mysterious substance is supposed to be at. They saw Kirby and Zero over there.

However, what they saw, was not a good sight.

They saw Kirby with a shocked face—without the Sword ability—lying down on the ground. As if, feeling betrayed. He has a scar, presumably from a sword or a knife.

But who has a knife or sword? Last time the three remembered, Sword is at the Halberd with Cutter to go on some sort of mission.

When they looked at their left, everything made sense.

Zero’s knife has _blood_ on it. He _sliced_ Kirby.

He cannot handle his hatred towards the Fluffball anymore. He is planning to _kill _Kirby.

The three decided to hide to see how it goes. They don’t want Kirby dead. They wanted to jump in to save Kirby, but they can’t. They might get sliced by the demon.

_“This _is how much I hated you.” They hear Zero say.

The forest doesn’t seem to be nice anymore.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter may or may not be the last chapter of this first arc. So look out for that, and keep on Demon Dreaming!


	9. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero kills Kirby. The latter’s friends can’t stop the former.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos! I know that they are from guests, but I would like to say thanks! 
> 
> I would probably like a registered account to actually leave kudos. But then, I can’t just go crazy, wouldn’t I?

Bandana Dee, Magolor, and the Beanbon watched in shock. They missed it, but they knew that Zero has _sliced _Kirby.

They didn’t completely comprehend what happened. When they did, they wanted to go. However, their body didn’t listen. Their body is not as hard as stone, unmoving, and utterly useless. Their minds are trying to move them, but they just cannot. They are still in shock that they just... can’t.

Meanwhile with Kirby and Zero, the Fluffball is also in shock. He didn’t expect that this may come when it’s obvious that this may happen someday. Kirby might have been too distracted by friend-making that he completely forgot that Zero can kill him whenever he wanted.

“W-why...?” Is all that Kirby can say.

“Why? Well, you know why.”

The Beanbon is now scared. She doesn’t know what is happening. But the venomous tone that came out from Zero’s mouth had made her spine shiver. It’s not like she has them, but it didn’t matter.

Kirby is still in shock. He doesn’t know why exatly he is mad at him. He knew that he killed him, but since he’s a god, doesn’t he just... get used to it?

Kirby slowly stood up, holding the scar that is on his right cheek.

“I know what you’re thinking. I might have been killed a lot of times in the past, and I should be ok with it. But that time... that time was different.” Zero said, turning around to face the little Fluffball. His eye burning with rage, a rage that may have been as hot as hell itself.

“So you have warned to other planets about me!? About the threat I oppose!? I’d admit, that’s brave of you, but it **doesn’t matter! **_You have RUINED **me!”** Zero yelled angrily towards the Fluffball, who is still in shock. “How** can I destroy everything when you are in the way? How can I do it when you are in the way!?”**_

“I... I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to.” Is all the Fluffball can say.

“Of course, that’s your answer...

But it doesn’t change the fact that I hate you.”

After Zero said that, he sliced Kirby again. This time, with more strength. And again. And again.

**“Damn you, damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU!!”**

A lot of blood came out from Kirby’s scars. A _lot _of scars.

The blood flowed slowly. If this keeps up, he will be gone. He will lose so much blood that he might die.

Bandana Dee and his group wanted to do something, but Zero looked at them, as if trying to say that this is personal.

He then looked back to Kirby. “Any last words?” He said.

…

Kirby is too weak to say anything. It led him to some thoughts.

Was Project: Demon Dream a bad idea?

Why did Kirby make this in the first place?

Right, he just wanted to help Zero.

But why did he wanted to help the demon in the first place?

Zero was a victim of abuse.

What made it worse is that no one was there to help him. He never had a true friend.

“D-did you see that?” The Beanbon asked.

“Y-Yeah.” Bandana Dee said.

“K-Kirby... I hope he’s ok.”

“He _better _be! He exploded the Halberd! He went all over to save me from the crown! He even _destroyed_ the NOVA!” Magolor yelled, shaking the Beanbon.

Bandana Dee prayed for some sort of miracle. _Any _kind of miracle.

Thanks to the group, Kirby have some form of strength in the form of friends watching. They were worried about him. Kirby knew that they wanted to jump in to save him, but they can’t.

So, they are all counting on him. _He _is the only one who can stop this.

So, he did.

“What is the point of all of this?” Kirby asked, albeit weakly.

“What?”

“What is the point of killing me?” Kirby asked, stronger than before.

“Of course! It’s because-”

“What would you do if you _do _destroy everything!? Actually succeeded in your revenge towards everything with your Dark Matter!?” Kirby yelled out loud, shocking everyone around him. That includes Zero.

“Of course! I would... I would...” Zero yelled, but his voice trailed off when he realized that he doesn’t know what to answer.

...Silence.

“I... I don’t know.” Zero put off the knife.

“I... I was trying to help you poyo.” Kirby said. Zero knew that he didn’t meant destroying the world.

It actually meant that... Kirby wanted to help Zero understand the feelings of other creatures. Kirby wanted to help him make friends.

Zero dropped the knife. He looked at Kirby, who is scarred physically _and_ mentally.

He just wanted to help. He didn’t do anything wrong. He just didn’t thought of the consequences.

What _is _the point?

* * *

Bandana Dee and his group finally came to Kirby, the Beanbon treating his scars. Zero watched all of it without saying a single word.

“Are you ok?” Bandana Dee said.

Blood tears flowed down from the demon’s ‘skin’, forming a puddle of blood under him.

‘What have I done?’

However, they have forgotten something.

“Right! The substance!” Magolor said, realizing that they are at the place where that thing should be.

And it lead to... a nearby tree.

No one said anything.

Suddenly, a face popped out from the tree. It was Whispy Woods.

“Hello there! What... happened?” Whispy said with a smile, but that faded when he saw the scarred Kirby.

Zero turned around. He ran away!

Kirby wanted to chase after him, but he is still hurt. He did it anyway, much to the dismay of his friends 

“Wait poyo!” Kirby said as he ran. It hurts, but he needs to find Zero.

Despite the pain...

Despite his hatred...

... Kirby will always be in their side.

“What was that?” Whispy Woods asked. Bandana Dee decided to explain.

_ To be continued... _


	10. An apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero runs away. Kirby searches for his friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 06/06/2020: Fixed a plot hole that I can’t believe I haven’t noticed earlier

Zero ran, and ran. Leaving behind a trail of blood tears. Following him is Kirby, albeit slower than him.

Kirby however, is getting tired. His scars are getting worse, and it felt like he is going to faint anytime soon...

‘Take you time Kirby, take your time.’ He tells himself.

But... in the end, he just can’t keep on. He landed face first to the ground, still bleeding.

* * *

Kirby woke up on a bed. His bed. He is in his house, treated of all of his scars. 

“Poyo?” Kirby called.

Suddenly, Bandana Dee sprung up. “Thank goodness you’re alive!”

The Beanbon is also in the room. She is also relieved that Kirby is awake.

“W-What happened poyo?” Kirby asked.

“Y-you just fainted while looking for Zero!” Bandana Dee said.

“Did the blood trail at least... last?” Kirby asked, looking out to the window.

“Yeah! It was still there, nothing ruining it.” The Beanbon said. “By the way, here is some soup.” She added, giving the soup to Kirby.

“T-thanks.” Kirby said, taking the soup. He drank it all up.

“By the way, where’s Magolor?” Kirby asked as he slammed the bowl on the table right next to him.

“He’s still in the forest, looking for that thing.” Bandana Dee answered.

Kirby looked at the window again, seeing the trail of blood outside.

‘Zero...’

He jumped up and immediately ran outside, following the trail of blood to wherever it is leading.

“Wait!” Bandana Dee and the Beanbon ran towards the Fluffball.

And then he was gone flying. Flying by puffing himself with air and flapping his stubby arms like a bird.

* * *

At the lake, Zero looked at the many trees that surrounded the lake. It was... peaceful in a way. The greens that hit his eyes are something that he has never truly experienced.

He was so focused on his goal of omnicide that he never experienced all of this. What got him to do such thing anyway?

Zero is getting a little sleepy. However, he heard some yelling.

“Zee-kun!”

It was Kirby. He was looking for him.

“What are you doing here?” Zero asked.

“I just worried about you poyo.” Kirby answered, as he landed.

Kirby then walked next to the demon, and sat next to him, looking towards the horizon.

Zero looked down to the lake with his reflection on the lake. He seems sad.

Kirby saw this. “What’s wrong poyo?” He asked.

“It’s just... why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you so nice to me despite what happened before?”

  
Silence. 

“It’s... it’s because I _pity_ you! I feel bad for you!” Kirby stood up. “I don’t want you to experience something _horrible _ever again!”

Zero was... enlightened by this. He knew that Kirby told him that before, but the dedication was so strong, he was... feeling a weird feeling.

What was this?

Could it be... sympathy?

Zero was crying again. He really felt bad for the Fluffball.

He tried a hug despite his lack of arms, and started crying.

“I’m sorry!” The demon yelled over and over. Kirby hugged him back.

“It’s ok poyo. It’s ok.” Kirby reassured, patting Zero at the back.

Eventually, Bandana Dee and the Beanbon came to the lake.

“Aww, that’s so adorable.” Bandana Dee said.

“B-But...” The Beanbon is getting scared. She is shocked that this red thing was the mastermind of that attack that happened a decade ago.

“It’s ok. He’ll be fine.”

“...Ok, as you say.”

Also appearing is Magolor. And a light green Fluffball with green feet with wings that look like tree branches. The Fluffball is carrying a green crayon which is the size of him.

“Is that...” Zero said, somewhat surprised.

“You know that thing?” Kirby asked.

“Yeah. A Crystal Crayon.”

The three tilted their heads.

“What is a Crystal Crayon?” The Beanbon asked.

The green Fluffball is the one to talk. “Crystal Crayons are items that hold this world together. If one breaks, reality would be a little unstable. If all of them break... hoo boy.”

“All of us—including the gods—will die.” Zero said.

The three were shocked by this.

“By the way, who are you?” Bandana Dee asked.

“You don’t know me? Right. I’m Whispy Woods!”

Silence.

“What?” Bandana Dee said in disbelief.

“Yep! I swear! I saw him transform right in front of my eyes!” Magolor said.

“This crayon holds my power. It would turn me into the tree that you know!” Whispy said. “I just split myself from the crayon and turned into this!”

“He is a Crystal Guardian after all.” Zero added. “But... why are you here?” He then asked.

“Well... it’s just...” Whispy is kind of in a loss of words. “I want to cheer you up. I know that you are dangerous, considering what you did to this planet, but... I just wanted to give this to you. After all, I can feel it. You truly care for the little fluff.”

Zero took it. He then absorbed it, much to the shock of Kirby and his friends.

“What? You have seen things that are weirder than that, I bet.” Zero pointed out.

“...You know, you’re right.” Kirby said, reminiscing all of the stuff he had encountered.

“One Crystal Crayons, five to go.” Zero then announced, not that he needs to.

Magolor decided to explain. “According to him,” he said, pointing to Whispy. “There are six Crystal Crayons around here, and if Zero takes them all, he will unlock the power he needs to destroy galaxies in one fell swoop!”

Silence.

“Shall we go home?” Kirby asked.

“Yeah. I have seen enough.” Bandana Dee answered. 

Nighttime

Zero has agreed to be Kirby’s roommate, much to Kirby’s excitement. Right now, they are on the bed. Kirby is already in deep sleep. Zero however, is looking at the window, blood trail luckily gone thanks to Bandana Dee and the others cleaning it up.

The demon—if he can call himself that anymore—still feels... off. He felt like he didn’t deserve to live in this planet. After all, he had done some unforgivable things like trying to destroy the planet a long time ago.

Of course, he still is in the mood for killing, and doesn’t want to sleep, but without his shell, his stamina is limited. He really needs some rest.

Zero finally found friends. Friends that could possibly stick with him throughout. However, he still feels unwanted. Popstar doesn’t feel like home.

Maybe because he is so used to traveling that he doesn’t want to settle in one place. Maybe he just really wanted everything to be dark. Something like that.

But... he doesn’t feel like he fits. He doesn’t fit with everyone. He’s not happy, carefree, lazy... all of that stuff.

Where does he belong to? Where is his... paradise?

_To be continued..._


	11. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends celebrate Halloween.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A start of a new arc! Mostly filler, it is a debut of a new character!
> 
> Also, Magolor is back to traveling. Yes, he is in this secret group, but he cannot work to be honest.

Night has fallen. Today is Halloween, the day where people wear in costumes and apparently, the day where the dead visit the living. Cappy town is crowded when it’s Halloween since all of their inhabitants are celebrating it despite their low population.

It has been a few days since Zero’s return, and rumors are immediately going around Dreamland. Of course, king Dedede has been quiet about this for obvious reasons, but he mentioned that if he _did _return, Kirby might give him a chance, and to not disturb their possible friendship, much to the confusion of many people.

Anyways, people are going out in costumes, and are already trick-or-treating.

Zero doesn’t get why they do such when this day is supposedly something else, but Kirby told him that it part of it.

They are in Kirby’s house to dress up. Kirby is using his spray paint to make his body white and his feet red. Next, he took a red pen and drew six lines that are pointing towards his face.

Bandana Dee took his bandanna off and replaced it with a different bandanna. That bandanna is black with a white skull on it. Also, he put an eyepatch because pirate. He doesn’t know how to speak pirate though...

Zero? Well... he wore pink bunny ears. He hates it.

The three are now going to the town to trick-or-treat. They came to other houses and did things.

Eventually, the met up with the Beanbon. She is wearing a black witch hat with some belt.

“Hey Beanbon!” Bandana Dee yelled. The Beanbon turned towards them.

“Oh! Hi Bandana!” The Beanbon said. She then walked towards the group.

“Where did you go?” Kirby asked.

“Bandana Dee gave me a castle tour. And It was _great!”_ The Beanbon explained happily.

Zero have never seen the Beanbon so happy before. Maybe it’s because of their little adventure that they had a few days ago?

“Alright! Now let’s go guys!” Kirby yelled.

And so, they continued.

* * *

They came to different houses in different shape and sizes and got a lot of candy. Most saw Zero, but they didn’t think it’s him.

Now to the last house.

The four walked to the house, and knocked at it.

What came out was a Burning Leo.

“Trick-or-treat!” The quartet said at the same time. The Burning Leo seems to be shocked.

“What is it?” The Beanbon asked.

“Oh, umm, it’s nothing, really.” The Burning Leo stuttered, looking towards Zero.

“You hate bunnies? Don’t worry, I hate them too.” Zero said.

“Um, I’m not scared of bunnies, they’re one of my favorites!” The Burning Leo yelled.

“I see.”

Zero was about to shake it off and just get some candy when he realized.

This has _worse _implications than hating bunnies. It looks like his group of friends realized too. 

They took the candy from the Burning Leo and came back to Kirby’s house.

“D-Did that Leo know who Zero is?” The Beanbon stuttered.

“I bet.” Zero said in a calm tone.

“Why are you being calm about this!? That Leo could just tell everyone about it and possibly kill you!” Bandana Dee yelled in worry.

“It’ll be fine.” Zero said. “I have a feeling that he could be our new ally.” He added with the same calm voice.

Everybody is dumbfounded. Why did the demon think it’s a good idea to bring someone in that could possibly kill him?

“Could we just go home now?” Kirby asked. “I’m getting tired.”

And so, they returned home, and fell asleep.

_ To be continued... _


	12. Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burning Leo spies on Zero.

In the Bunny Bakery, Zero is eating his favorite chocolate cake.

The rest of the Demon Dream team are doing stuff. Bandana Dee is doing his duties, the Beanbon decided to go with him because she has nowhere else to go, while Kirby...

Well, he’s here at other table, apparently.

Kirby noticed the red orb. “Hey Zee-kun!” He greeted, going to Zero’s table.

Zero decided to let him sit on the empty chair. After all, they are allies, not enemies.

However, he is confused by the word ‘Zee-kun’. Kirby says it a lot, but he doesn’t know what it meant.

“What do you mean by ‘Zee-kun’?” Zero asked.

“Your nickname poyo.”

“Really? That’s... actually really sweet of you.”

Zero had a lot of names, with his name being the one he chose to be named, they mostly strike fear when one hears them. Being named after a number, people thought that he was the one who made the word. In actuality, it is the other way around. Even he doesn’t know who made it. He guesses that it is a member of a currently endangered species.

Hold on, he’s getting off topic.

He never had an alternative name that is actually for affectionate purposes, instead of something that can strike fear in one’s heart once one knows what it’s referring to.

“T-Thank you.” Zero added.

“You’re welcome Zee-kun!” Kirby nodded.

Meanwhile, at the window, there is a creature that has his head on fire. He is fine however, since it’s normal for his species to have your head on fire.

The creature is a Burning Leo. The same one Kirby and his friends met yesterday when trick-or treating.

The Burning Leo is taking notes. Taking notes about Kirby and his mysterious friend of his that he calls ‘Zee-kun’. He can’t help but think that creature is familiar... but he can’t put on a finger on who, exactly. Just... who is this bunny-hater, and why the heck is this bunny-hater in a bakery that is literally ran by a _rabbit!?_

The Burning Leo finally got his answers.

“By the way, didn’t you say that you hate bunnies yesterday?” Kirby asked.

“Yeah, why?” Zero answered.

“Because you are literally in a bakery that had a bunny working here!”

“Yes, I do hate bunnies. I hate everything. But it doesn’t mean that I like to go here for the cake.” Zero explained. “To be honest, I would like to order something other than chocolate cake. Trying out new things is good, right?”

Kirby nodded. He seems to agree. The Fluffball hopped off from his chair while Zero followed suit. Not before he spotted the Burning Leo watching them from the window.

The Burning Leo didn’t move. He is just frozen in place in shock as if the rabbit-hater is Medusa. Zero decided to leave him alone, but took a mental note about his existence.

And then, they left.

...

Zero decided to split ways from Kirby for a little bit. He decided to go to castle Dedede. He then met up with Bandana Dee and the Beanbon.

“Hey Zero, how’s your day?” Bandana Dee asked.

“Eh, mostly fine.” Is Zero’s answer. “How is yours?” He then asked.

“Great! We’ve been talking about things like favorite foods, favorite things, and heck, things about you!”

“To be honest,” The Beanbon began to speak. “You are pretty chill when you’re uhh...” she then put her face near where she assumes is where Zero’s ears are. “...Not destroying planets and wanting everything to die.” She whispered, albeit nervously. She still hasn’t overcome her fear of those creatures, hasn’t she?

Anyway, they talked about things that are going on recently. However, what caught Zero’s eye is a giant pink flower that is at the distance.

“What is that?” Zero asked.

“Oh, that? That’s the Dreamstalk!” Bandana Dee explained, pointing at the Dreamstalk. “It grew fast, so fast that it carried Kirby’s house and great king’s castle!” He added, with arms open, trying to gesture of how crazy it is.

“Turns out, it is a call for help from the people of the sky that live in a place called Floria. They wanted to find the hero of the lower world, and that hero is Kirby! However, the person who is causing the trouble in the first place decided to use the Dreamstalk so they can kidnap the hero!”

The Beanbon and the demon are surprised. There is someone who tried to _kidnap_ Kirby!?

“Luckily, they didn’t know who _exactly_ is that hero, so instead, they kidnapped great king.” Bandana Dee explained in a bored tone, as if he expected it to happen. “And he got possessed again. And that person who did it isn’t even Dark Matter. Let’s just say that great king isn’t happy.”

Meanwhile, the Burning Leo is taking notes. This little creature seems to be a curious little fellow. And his name is Zero! Well, that’s something. Nothing special here. He’s just a normal little creature. Probably endangered, but at least enjoying life.

“Looks like it _is_ just me after all. He doesn’t seem weird or anything!” The Burning Leo said to himself.

Until something hit him.

“I... I think I heard that name before. But when?” Now the Leo is worried.

Again, Zero spotted him, but unlike last time, the Burning Leo didn’t notice. Now he’s worried for his well-being. What would he do if he finds out? He doesn’t know.

The Beanbon has left already, now alone with the bandanna-wearing Waddle Dee. It looks like said Waddle Dee noticed Zero’s worries.

“Never expected you to be worried Zero. Shall we go meet at Kirby’s house later?” Bandana Dee suggested.

“...Sure.” Zero nodded.

_ To be continued... _


	13. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby & friends think of something.

Kirby and his friends are now in his house, which they now consider their hideout spot of their project.

Right now, they are chilling out. Eating candy and some sweets that Kirby himself made with the cook ability, and just chilling out in general.

Apparently, the Burning Leo is watching. He watched as the red creature in Kirby’s group of friends hanged out with them. He is looking for things that can remind him, but can’t.

He doesn’t know where he heard of someone named Zero, or when, exactly. He is just watching to see if his behavior can remind him of something.

At the end, nothing did. The Burning Leo decided to give up and leave.

“I could just go to the museum anyway. Wait, the museum!”

And thus, the Burning Leo ran towards the museum.

When Kirby is sure that the Burning Leo is gone, they immediately stopped chilling out, and the atmosphere turned serious all of a sudden.

Right now, Zero is shaking in worry.

_ Meanwhile... _

The Burning Leo went to the local museum. There are a lot of stuff around there.

He does remember that ‘Zero’ has significance in the past. At least if he remembered correctly.

“So let’s see...” The Burning Leo looked through the things in the museum. He looked at the tags, through the information, and all of that stuff.

When he is about to give up, he saw something about Dark Matter. The creatures that tried to destroy the planet once in the old days. He decided to go there.

And then... he saw it.

“It can’t be... I had to do something!”

* * *

The three had never seen Zero this worried before. He is usually cold but collected. However, right now, he is shaking—no, _shivering—_in fear.

“What happened?” Kirby asked.

“It’s just... I just... I don’t want to be found out.” Zero stuttered. “I don’t want to be killed by something stupid, like a whole mob of creatures grouping at me when I still don’t have my powers recovered.”

“Well... that’s... _that’s bad!_ That Burning Leo might have figured out your identity by now.” Bandana Dee said in worry. “But what are we going to do?”

Kirby shook his head. He doesn’t know.

“The best thing we could do is convince him, but I think that would take time.” He said.

“How about killing him?” Zero asked.

Everybody looked Zero at the eye. **_“NO!”_** They all said in unison.

* * *

The Burning Leo is now preparing to save the world. He had concluded that Kirby and his friends have been deceived by Zero, or that all of them are possessed. He had to do something to save them before the demon can do anything bad to them.

However, he did not want to tell anyone, because he felt like it’s something that he can do alone.

Also, he didn’t want to make the townspeople panic. He had enough of that crap.

So, he thought alone, in his own house.

_ To be continued... _


	14. His Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero gets a birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a modification of a chapter in the beta version. You can check it out at Fanfiction.Net.

_So, we have a problem._

_There is that Burning Leo that is following us. He seems to be planning to expose us and get myself killed. So, we made a plan where we just pretend that he didn’t exist, and catch him. _

_Of course, we won’t kill him, nor remove his memories. Kirby and I will take care of that. Furthermore, I do not think I am able to remove them._

Zero put down his recorder, and walked to the castle.

* * *

Bandana Dee and Zero decided to have a little talk while the Fluffball and the Beanbon play some games in a console named the "Switch".

"So, uhh... do you know what a birthday is?" Bandana Dee decided to ask.

"Of course. It's the day where you are born." Zero answered. "Why did you ask?"

"Umm... do _you_ have a birthday?" Bandana Dee asked.

Zero... never thought of that. He never celebrated nor knew his birthday. He just appeared out of... nowhere—and that's it.

When is his birthday? Is it the day when the universe is born? If it is, then... when is it?

"I... do not think I have one." Zero said.

This made the bandanna wearing Waddle Dee speechless.

"You... don't know your birthday?" Bandana Dee said. "No wonder you're lonely."

The eyeball moaned. "Totally expected for a demon like me." He said depressingly.

They then watch the Beanbon and Fluffball playing some game holding a D-shaped controller for each of them. Kirby has a red one, while the Beanbon holds the blue one.

They are playing a fighting game where you try to knock your opponent off the stage—At least that's what Zero saw.

"So..." Bandana Dee decided to ask. "How about I give you a birthday? I have a birthday—which is at September 29—Kirby had a birthday—which is at April 27—and... I don't know about that Beanbon over there but... everyone has a birthday."

"So... what?" Zero asked, still confused.

"I'm gonna give you a birthday! Well, your birthday is probably someday else, but I don't care!" Bandana Dee said.

"But I don't need a birthday. What is even the point of celebrating it?" Zero said. 

Upon hearing that, Kirby agreed with the Beanbon to pause the game. They then listened to the two.

"...Actually, that's a good question." Bandana Dee then thought.

“Well, what we do in a birthday is celebrate it! We do that in a number of ways. The most common one is cake and presents, but a birthday is a special day.” Kirby explained.

“Yeah!” The Beanbon added. “We may not know your birthday, but we can just guess!”

The demon is speechless; He looked around—pondering about it—and said his answer.

"...sure."

And so, the four thought of when it would be.

"Hmm... when is the day when I attacked again?" Zero asked.

"Umm... November 27?" Bandana Dee said.

"But it’s the same day when Zee-kun attacked poyo!" Kirby said. "But ten years ago." He added.

Everybody facepalmed. “I just mentioned that earlier.” Zero pointed out.

“But still, are you ok about it? Making that your birthday, that is.” Bandana Dee decided to ask.

...Silence 

"Nah, it's ok. I'm totally fine with it." Zero said. However, he realized something.

“Wait, isn’t that today?”

It made the three laugh, but it's not to make fun of him.

And for the first time in his life, also laughed with them.

Usually, he would feel humiliated when that exact day comes. After all, that is the day where Kirby defeated him, isn’t it?

However, Kirby gave him a reason to live. To find true happiness. To find peace—just because he needed it. 

For the first time in his life, he felt hopeful for the future, forgetting about the Burning Leo who is still watching them from the window of the castle.

_ To be continued... _


	15. Spattering Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby becomes sick. Zero complements the rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is completed yesterday, but forgot to post to this site. Oops!

Rain.

Zero had heard it a lot. It is common in most planets. However, raining water is pretty rare. There are few planets that have water, which turn into steam, and then fall back to the planet again.

This is his first time experiencing such thing properly. He’s very busy destroying planets back in the day to properly do such. He heard rumors that planets that has raining water is the most common for his species to attack—which is the reason why they are so rare—when in actuality, he just doesn’t care if it rains water or diamonds or rock or whatever. Zero just wanted to kill them all, and it’s just an everyday thing for him that he forgets why he’s doing such thing most of the time. Humiliation usually makes him remember.

Anyways, Kirby got a cold. It is sudden, but he did. Zero never caught a cold, nor heard about it. Apparently, it’s a bad thing that makes your head hurt and stuff. Luckily, Fluffballs are prepared for such things, as their bodies heat up to kill the tiny non-sentient creatures causing the cold in the first place.

However, that alone won’t cure it. That is why Zero is learning how to cook a corn soup, in order to speed up the process.

Bandana Dee and the Beanbon are there too, teaching the demon how to cook.

“This recipie isn’t the traditional one. But rather, the instant version. This thing is created to speed up the process of cooking!” Bandana Dee said. Zero is annoyed upon hearing about it. This thing isn’t the real deal! He wanted to know the traditional version. 

“Then how about the traditional version?” Zero asked.

“Sorry. Don’t know it.” “Me neither.” Both Bandana Dee and the Beanbon answered. “At least you can look at the internet!” The Beanbon added.

“Could we just go back to cooking?” Zero asked, not caring to ask what is the internet.

* * *

Eventually, they made the soup. Kirby drank it all. However, it isn’t that fast as he used to be. ‘Probably because of this cold’ Zero thought as he watched Kirby drink it all.

Bandana Dee and the. Beanbon already left. That leaves Zero and Kirby.

Zero decided that he’s just going to leave the house, since Kirby is asleep and he has nothing else better to do.

He took a dark grey umbrella that is just sitting at the floor, and decided to use it. Bandana Dee decided to leave it here for Zero just in case if he wants to come out.

If anything, this rain is peaceful. Nothing disturbing him at all. It’s sounds so good too, as the water drops fall on the ground, they splat on contact, making a sound. Those water drops hitting the umbrella is also something too.

When alone, the sound isn’t impressive. However, when it’s a lot of water drops falling, it makes a sound that goes... how does he put it? zaaaa... zaaaa...

Zaaa...

Zaaa...

ザー...

ザー...

...

At this point, Zero is distracted. He realized that there is another saying instead of ‘zaaa’. It’s patter.

And then he remembered that the people in Dreamland spoke Japanese, and not English. 

He decided to walk through the town, umbrella in hand... even though he doesn’t have hands.

Little did he knew, he fell into the Burning Leo’s trap.

_ To be continued... _


	16. Fire and Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burning Leo finally lands a hit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, forgot to post this chapter :/ sorry!

Zero continued hopping on town alone. For the first time since forever, he is now left alone. No one interacted with him nor did anyone run away in fear.

He continued to hop on this rainy day to go to the lake so he can chill out. Coincidentally, the Beanbon is there. Zero decided to hop near her.

“Hey.” Zero greeted. It caused the Beanbon to fall over.

“Zero, stop that! You scared me!” The Beanbon said.

“That’s my nature. Anyway, why are you here?”

“Well... I-I still can’t stand you. You’re just... scary. So that’s why I’m here, just to relax.” The Beanbon explained, looking towards the lake in front of her.

“But why here when it’s rainy?” Zero asked. “You don’t have an umbrella on you.”

“W-well, plants need water. I’m a plant... thing. So of course I need water!”

Zero decided to sit besides the Beanbon, looking at the lake.

...

...

Suddenly, he isn’t thinking anymore. Is this relaxing? Yeah. He might have been relaxing.

He felt like sleeping, but he fought it. After all, he doesn’t need sleep. It’s an optional thing for him.

Then he remembered that he didn’t have his shell. And that he dropped his umbrella onto the lake. Luckily, it didn’t drift away from him.

He then looked at his left to see that the Beanbon is about to sleep, but is also fighting it.

Zero had asked too many answers, but he had to ask one.

“Why are you letting me sit next to you when you are scared of me?”

“B-because...” The Beanbon tried to say something but...

The Burning Leo jumped, a flaming sword in hand. Despite the weather being rainiy, the fire on the sword never fades for some reason. 

Because of this sudden ambush, the Beanbon is shocked that she forgot what she is supposed to say.

Zero expected it. Because of course. He doesn’t seem to be phased... also in the literal sense.

After all, Zero used his knife to block the Burning Leo’s attack.

“Get away from that Beanbon **you **_**monster!**” _The Burning Leo yelled. 

While the Beanbon is lost on her thoughts, the Burning Leo is still attacking Zero. Zero however, kept using his knife to block the attacks from the sword.

The Burning Leo swung the sword as fast as the wind. So fast that the fire would be gone by now. However, with each slice, the flames kept on roaring, unchanging with each slice. The sword hit Zero’s knife multiple times with a loud clanging that can be heard from all over the lake. 

Why did Zero had to be attacked by some random stranger who doesn’t know his weakness? He wanted to attack back, he really does. But he can’t. He had to not hurt the Burning Leo to convince him that Zero isn’t the enemy anymore. He can’t get himself to use the Crystal Crayon’s power either.

“Stop! I have no intention to destroy Popstar again!” Zero desperately yelled. The Burning Leo didn’t stop. “Even if I did, Kirby would have killed me by now!” He added, hoping that it would do something.

“Ha, like I would believe you!” The Burning Leo said, as he finally got a hit. But then again, knives are shorter than swords. 

Zero can feel his ‘skin’ burning. The heat of the flames had scorched him that the Beanbon can see that part going black. It is then followed by the slice of the sword itself. Blood came out, spraying weakly. With the heat-ness of the sword, it is a nightmare to feel. Even one shot of the Love-Love stick doesn’t compare to this.

Even though Zero’s blood is acidic, it didn’t erode the Leo’s sword at all.

The Beanbon is horrified by this. The blood coming out from poor Zero makes her sick. Of course she is a medic, but that doesn’t mean that she is ok with blood.

And worse, she is starting to consider Zero as a true friend, which is sadly going to be destroyed by a random yet determined stranger. 

“N-no... why...?” The Beanbon said in a shaky voice.

The Burning Leo stood there, staring towards Zero. Zero looked burnt and hurt. A slice should end this form and the nothingness will once again become dormant.

The Beanbon won’t let that happen.

As the Burning Leo about to slice Zero, the Beanbon threw herself in the middle of the fight.

“S-**STOP IT!” **The Beanbon yelled in fear, but also, with determination.

She took the hit.

The Burning Leo immediately stopped his attack.

“M-miss? B-but why!?” The Burning Leo said, with confusion and anger mixed in his tone.

The pain is unbearable. Her leaves are burning in flames, despite the rain falling on her leaves. She wanted to dive to the water to save herself, but instead stayed in place.

“He... Zero is a friend! I-I know that he’s scary and stuff, but... but that’s in the past! He changed! I p-promise! I-I’m not lying. A-After all, why would I? Why would he!?” The Beanbon yelled.

The Beanbon is taking deep breaths. She finally took a dip on the lake.

“How would _I _know that you aren’t possessed!?” The Burning Leo asked.

The Beanbon in the lake has no words. 

She didn’t know what to say. 

Luckily, someone decided to do it for her. 

“She isn’t. I cannot feel the dark energy at all.” A deep, calm masculine voice can be heard. 

Zero recognized the voice.

It’s him. One of his Dark Matter.

“Where are you?” Zero asked in a calm but shaky tone while the Beanbon rushed towards him weakly to heal him.

The Dark Matter finally showed himself, with a soggy cloak due to the rain. His sword shone, reflecting the light from the steel made out from it.

Unlike most legal weapons, it is not made out of the substance that brings your soul and body back somewhere, but rather, when you get killed by it, you are dead.

“Long time no see...” the Dark Matter said in a calm tone. “...’master’.” His tone then became sinister. It doesn’t look like he considers Zero as his master anymore. And the demon knows it.

“B-But... why?” Zero asked.

_ To be continued... _


	17. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero talks to his rebelling child.

“B-But... why?” Zero asked.

The Dark Matter in front of him was always his right hand man of some sorts. He always follows him without question, and successfully completed his tasks... most of the time.

But this time, it seems to be different. This time, this particular Dark Matter doesn’t seem like he’s glad seeing his master. It seems like he is mad at him.

But why? Zero asked that question.

“Heh. You don’t know?” The Dark Matter scoffed.

“W-What do you mean?”

The Burning Leo who happened to be there doesn’t know what’s going on. He decided to go to Zero’s side because even _he_ doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Y-Yeah, what do you mean!?” The Burning Leo reluctantly said.

The dark creature is unfazed by this. He knows that the Burning Leo just sliced him at the back, just by the flaming sword he has on his hand. He just happened to align with Zero’s thoughts.

Meanwhile, the Beanbon brought out her first-aid kit and started treating herself. Zero—albeit weak—tried the best of his ability to help her... with his floaty magic as the Beanbon calls it.

Even so, they cannot.

“Are you just _that _dumb?” The Dark Matter said in disbelief.

“W-What?” Zero asked in shock.

“It’s because _you _have betrayed us. _You_ left us. Left us in the darkest parts in the galaxy.” The Dark Matter said in a calm yet intimidating tone.

Zero didn’t remember leaving all of his people somewhere. He just fell towards Popstar and that’s it.

“But I don’t remember leaving all of you there.” Zero said. “Or what place that is.” He added.

“Oh? Then what if I told you you came here without us? Do you think it’s weird that we didn’t came with you when you came to this stupid planet!?” The Dark Matter asked, raising his voice at the last words.

Now that he mentioned it, he’s right. Zero didn’t have his army of darkness with him when he came to Popstar.

“I... I didn’t know.”

“Really?” The Dark Matter ponded about this. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” He then shook it off. “After all, we have a new master to serve.”

The three are in shock. A new master!?

“W-who is that ‘new master’? Why are you even following him? Or her?” The Burning Leo asked.

“Good question. They are... well, I won’t tell you.” The Dark Matter said. “What I _will _tell you is that...

“...They gave us a true soul. Our paradise.”

Silence.

“W-What... do you mean?” The Beanbon asked, breaking that silence. 

Zero knew what it meant. But before he can explain it, the Dark Matter suddenly swung his sword!

Luckily, the Burning Leo blocked it for the two. Probably because the Beanbon is still a friend despite Zero possibly killing her.

Except... the Dark Matter teleported once the blades hit, and swung from behind! The Burning Leo is caught off guard and got hit by it.

Thud! The Burning Leo hit the ground _hard._

“Ow...”

He landed next to the Beanbon and Zero.

The Dark Matter is about to strike again when...

“Touch me!” Zero yelled. The Burning Leo followed the command and touched the top. The Beanbon followed it too.

And then, just as they are about to be hit, they teleported back to Kirby’s house, much to the shock of the sick Kirby.

“P-Poyo? What happened poyo!?” Kirby asked, then he coughed.

The three looked at each other.

“It’s a long story.” Zero said.

Then, the three explained, while the Beanbon treated them. Including herself.

Meanwhile, back at the lake, the Dark Matter looked around, looking for the three.

“Hm, they got away this time. But next time, they won’t get away with it.”

The Dark Matter then teleported away, leaving the sound of the sputtering rain behind.

Including the grey umbrella.

A red Fluffball is walking near the lake, hearing the sounds of people fighting. She wanted to help them, but it seems like it’s too late.

the Fluffball has rainbow-colored wings, kind of unusual for a Fluffball.

“What’s this?” A red Fluffball picked the umbrella. When he touched it, he felt an all-too-familiar aura.

“This... this is Zero’s aura! But... why?” The red Fluffball wondered.

_ To be continued... _


	18. The Red Fluffball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A red Fluffball appears.

A day has passed since the little incident about Dark Matter. The Demon Dream Team as they call themselves decided to gather in Kirby’s house.

Sadly. The Burning Leo can’t go. He still has to rest after all of that crap that happened yesterday.

“So... you’re saying Dark Matter is back, and has betrayed their leader in favor for a new one!?” Bandana Dee asked.

Zero nodded.

“Yeah, and it has terrible implications! Who knows what kind of crazy things they are planning! Oh no...” The Beanbon said in fear.

“Zero, do you know who is the new leader poyo?” Kirby worryingly asked, not using the ‘Zee-kun’ nickname that he always uses. Zero noticed this. It probably means he’s serious.

Zero sadly shook his head. “I am afraid that I have no information.” He said. “But he said that they gave all Dark Matter ‘true souls’.” He added.

Bandana Dee wrote that in his notes. “Any more?”

“As I said, that is the only information I know.”

“Do you know what is a Dark Matter with a true soul?”

Silence. Zero might have been thinking. He must have realized that giving Dark Matter a true soul might have very terrible implications.

“Usually, Dark Matter are just like robots. They have no will to get away from me or rebel against me. They just listen to me, without question.” Zero explained. “When given actual souls however, they have free will. They can do whatever they want and realize that they can do anything else other than listening my orders.”

Now everyone is paranoid.

“T-this... I don’t know what to think.” Bandana Dee said.

“Aren’t all of you supposed to be heroes? You shouldn’t be scared or anything.” Zero said. Trying to cheer everyone up.

The team’s faces light up.

“Yeah! We can’t let random creatures let us down!” Kirby energetically said.

“Besides, we’ve done that a lot of times!” Bandana Dee added.

“I-I’m scared, but... we have to do this!” The Beanbon also added.

“That’s the spirit.” Zero said with a ‘smile’ on his face.

“But... how can we defeat that Dark Matter? Or even a horde of them?” The Beanbon asked worryingly.

Now everyone is in paranoia again.

Suddenly, a knock of the door is heard. While Kirby and the Beanbon hide Zero under the bed, Bandana Dee opened the door to reveal a red Fluffball holding a red umbrella.

“Is Zero here?” The Fluffball asked in a motherly tone. Everybody froze not because of the tone, but the implications. “I... I’m just going to give this umbrella back to him.” She added, making the trio sigh in relief.

The red orb got out from the bed and took the umbrella.

“Thanks.” He said.

Before the Fluffball left the house, Zero stopped him.

“Wait!” He stopped the Fluffball. “How did you know where I am? Or know that this umbrella is mine? I don’t remember writing my name on it.” He added.

“It’s by aura.”

“What?” Zero said bluntly.

The Fluffball’s face became confused. “You don’t know that I’m a Crystal Guardian?” The Fluffball asked.

Silence.

“Yeah... I should have expected that.” The Fluffball remarked.

More silence.

“Can you leave now?” Bandana Dee asked.

“Oh, right.” The Fluffball the prepared for leave. “Hold on a second, I got some news. Good news and bad news.” The Fluffball said, stopping her preparations immediately. Everybody seemed to be disappointed by this. But at the same time, somewhat scared.

“T-then what is the b-bad news?” The Beanbon asked.

The Fluffball frowned. “Actually, I heard your conversation about that Dark Matter earlier. It seems like it isn’t only him that betrayed you.” She explained.

Zero doesn’t seem happy. In fact, he seemed scared.

The red Fluffball then continued. “All of them had. They must have heard that you befriended your greatest enemy.”

Exactly what Zero have thought. Everyone of his children had betrayed him. Kirby tried to comfort him, but it doesn’t seem to work.

“Then how about the good news?” Bandana Dee asked, looking for a way to comfort the team.

“I know just the solution to defeat this new evil, even if I don’t know him!” The Fluffball said.

The result? Well, everybody flipped.

“Y-you don’t know!?” Bandana Dee is the first to stand up again.

The red Fluffball then continued. “I do know that this person is considerably worse than Zero, but with you and the Crystal Crayons on your side, you can unlock your true potential!”

Silence. Looks like Kirby and Bandana Dee has unlocked them a long time ago, evident by the disapproved look they have.

“...with the Crystal Crayons, that is.” The Fluffball added, hoping that it would ease up the awkwardness.

* * *

Right now, they are at a mountain. Over there, there are four Copy Essences. Beam, Cutter, Fire and Sword.

The red Fluffball is leading the group to a place to train. The five decided that it’s time to rest.

“So... where are we supposed to go?” Bandana Dee asked.

“I’ve been this place before.” Kirby said. “Since this place isn’t a good place for training, we might be going to go...” Kirby then pointed at a higher place. “...there.” He then answered.

“How, are we going to get there?” Zero asked.

“K-Kirby has his Warp Star, right?” The Beanbon asked.

“Yep!” Kirby said as he brought out a small yellow five-pointed star-shaped object. “I have it here!” He added, shaking it.

“That’s... a Warp Star?” Zero asked in a disappointed tone.

“Yep! Watch!” Kirby answered. He then threw the Warp Star which made it grow in size to fit four people. This surprised Zero and amazed the Beanbon.

“I have never seen a Warp Star that close before.” The Beanbon said in an amazed tone. “W-wait! Does that mean-“

“We’re gonna ride it to there!” The red Fluffball said, pointing at the destination.

This made the Beanbon squeal happily. **“Oh my gosh Oh my gosh Oh my gosh Oh my gosh _OH MY GOSH!”_**

“Can we ride it now?” Zero asked in a irritated tone.

“Sure!” Kirby said.

And so, they rode the Warp Star into the battlefield.

_ To be continued... _


	19. Warp Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends fly on a Warp Star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short and quick chapter. As always, it’s because it’s just for fun.

Kirby and friends are now riding on the Warp Star. It is pretty slow, since there is now more people in there.

Except that is a lie. Kirby just wanted everyone to experience flight. Zero seems to be enjoying it.

After all, he used to fly without needing a rest. Even though he gets into a gravity’s pull area, his shell-nest would cancel the pull for him. No exceptions.

But now, Zero is forced to obey the laws of gravity. He never gets to experience flight at all. At first, he isn’t used to hopping as he gets tired easily. However, as time goes on, he is started to get used to hopping, forgetting that he used to fly sometimes.

The demon had finally felt flight again, faster this time, unlike the last time. He can feel the wind pass him by and touch him. It is a nice time laying down on the Warp Star.

Zero had heard that there is a way to ride the Warp Star vertically, but he doesn’t want to try that now. He’s just ok with the horizontal way of riding for now.

“Next time, can I ride the Warp Star by myself?” Zero asked Bandana Dee, who so far, is his manual book about all things Kirby.

Bandana Dee thought about it. “No, it’s impossible.” He then sighed, his line of sight away from Zero’s.

Zero tilted his head in confusion. “Why?” He asked.

Kirby is the one to answer. “Fluffballs like me are born with a Warp Star. Only their owner can control it.” He answered. “Of course Fluffballs can share it, but the driver is—and is always—the owner of the star poyo.”

Zero sighed in disappointment. He just really wanted to ride one. The world can be unfair at times, he thought, as he had learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.

Eventually, they found land.

“Hold on tight! Kirby’s _really _bad at landing!” Bandana Dee warned.

“Wait, _what?”_ Zero, the Beanbon, and the red Fluffball said at the same time. They have shocked expressions

And as they thought, they crashed landed on their destination: Dyna Blade’s nest.

_To be continued.._


	20. A Bird of Steel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends get the second Crystal Crayon.

_ Bandana Waddle Dee’s POV _

We have reached the top of the mountain that is at... somewhere. “Where is this place?” I asked.

“It’s Dyna Blade’s nest poyo.” Kirbs replied. I tilt my head in confusion as I haven’t heard of this place before. “But why here?” He added, facing towards Ms. Red over there.

Now that I think about it...

“Um, miss? We haven’t heard your name.” I pointed out.

“Oh, my name? I don’t need to! Besides, we’ve already met before. Right Kirby?” The Fluffball said.

We are all confused, Kirby included. What does she mean we have met before?

Ms. Red seems to have knew this. “I see. I guess I’ll have to transform.” After she said it, she brought a red crayon-shaped crystal. Right, that Fluffball is a Crystal Guardian.

What I didn’t expect is her true form.

The red Fluffball ate the crayon, and shone brightly. She grew bigger and bigger, while her shape changed to something like a bird.

Wait, bird?

Dyna Blade’s nest?

Could it be...?

The light disappeared, and indeed it is her.

Dyna Blade herself.

We were all amazed about this. Well, except for Zero, since... y’know. Immortality and stuff.

That bird seems to be want a battle. Well, because it’s training, I guess it’s time to give her one.

But I have a thought.

“Wait,” I began. “If Dyna Blade is a Crystal Guardian and is a Fluffball, then what are her chicks? Are they Crystal Guardians? Are they born with a Crystal Crayon already in them? Are there more than si-”

Looks like no one listened to me as the three are already fighting.

“Aaaaaand, everybody’s now fighting.” I sighed as I bring out my spear and ran towards the battlefield.

_ 3rd person_

As the three who can fight rush to the giant bird while the Beanbon stays in place, they try to hit her with their weapons. However, due to Dyna Blade being a bird, she quickly and completely dodged it. As the four look for her, she suddenly swooped from behind, causing big damage towards them!

“Ow! How can we reach her at this rate!?” Zero complained.

“I don’t know!” The Beanbon yelled.

“Then what are you doing over there?”

The Beanbon gulped upon hearing Zero’s threat.

“Zee-kun!” Kirby scolded as he spat a star bullet towards Dyna Blade. However, the armor at the torso is so strong that it deflected and hit him!

“Fine.” Zero said as he jumped towards Dyna Blade with the intent of stabbing her...

...and landed face first.

“Shit. I forgot that I cannot fucking fly.” Zero cursed.

“Hey Zero!” Bandana Dee yelled, flying on the air by spinning his spear. “Hold my hand!” He added, reaching out to the demon. The demon held the Waddle Dee’s hand, but using one hand isn’t enough to spin the spear, so the red orb had to hold the Waddle Dee’s feet instead.

The Waddle Dee carried the orb high up in the air. Apparently, Kirby is meant to be a distraction. While Dyna Blade is trying to pick Kirby up with her talons, Bandana Dee flew.

“Go for the head! That’s her weak spot!” Bandana Waddle Dee yelled.

The two fall towards the bird’s head, and stabbed it at the same time—causing big damage towards the bird. However, it isn’t enough to defeat her as she quickly recovered from the impact.

Dyna Blade then flew again. But not before picking up the Beanbon with her beak!

The Beanbon screamed for help. Dyna Blade held her tight. Very tight that it started to hurt. Worse, she can feel the bird’s saliva touching her!

Luckily, the bird spit her out before it’s gets worse. But then, she grabbed them all! Zero however dodged the attack. But the three? Not so much.

“Kirby! Bandana! Beanbon!” Zero yelled as Dyna Blade flies away. Now what is he going to do?

It infuriates him. How dare did this bird take his only friends!? He knows that’s it’s training, but if anything, he _hates _to see his friends get hurt this bad.

Black sparks sparked around him, getting stronger and stronger slowly but surely.

Dyna Blade is going to attack again. This time, she is going to use her sharp wings to slice the demon. She flew as fast as the wind, ready to slice.

Before she can hit him however, Zero unleashed a burst of black electricity onto her, which caused the three at her talons to get zapped.

Dyna Blade fell to the ground, defeated. The three landed at the ground, paralyzed by the electricity. Luckily, it didn’t last long.

The three fell to the ground as Zero tries to comprehend what was going on and what he had done.

“Did I...”

He protected his friends.

Although he did hurt them by electricity, he didn’t wanted to see his friends hurt.

Zero started to consider the three as friends.

He finally did it. He finally found friends.

The demon ran towards the three and gave them a hug.

“You... you’re safe!” Zero said, as he cried red tears of joy.

The three hugged back with smiling faces.

* * *

“You have proven that you can handle the Crystal Crayon of fire. Here! You deserved it.” Dyna Blade—in her Fluffball form, said as she gave the crayon to the demon.

Zero took the red Crystal Crayon and absorbed it.

“I wonder, what would happen if I eat that?” Kirby asked.

“If I’m gonna guess, a Super Ability!” Bandana Dee answered.

The Beanbon and the demon tilted their heads in confusion.

“Um, t-that’s a tale for another time.”

“So can we go home now poyo?” Kirby asked. “I want to eat some cake.” He added.

“Not now! I forgot to say this but, in order to defeat this new evil, you have to find all of the crayons!” The red Fluffball said.

Everybody flipped.

At least they got some cake later.

* * *

Meanwhile, at some other place in Popstar, two siblings decided to go back to their hometown to check on Kirby and what is going on with him right now.

If Zero is found by them, then everything would probably go downhill for the project, and the siblings will lose trust with Kirby, as they forgot the fact that Kirby wanted to befriend the demon.

Well, one sibling, that is.

The other? He’s talking to Kirby right now.

“Hey, how r u doing?” The boy typed on his phone.

Kirby immediately read it as soon as it is posted. It took a long time for Kirby to answer since he is slow with keyboards.

“Great! Just made some new friends” is Kirby’s response.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, this arc is forgettable. I mean, there isn’t much going on.


	21. A Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby meets up with two old friends.

_ ??? _

The Dark Matter teleported into a dark place that is dark as him.

"Have you found Zero?" A voice from the middle of the place.

"Yes, my master." Dark Matter answered. "He is in Popstar right now." He added.

"I see."

* * *

_Somewhere in Popstar _

The siblings are riding on a bus. While waiting for it to reach its destination, the brother decided to talk to Kirby by phone.

"Have u been enjoying ur new phone?” The boy typed.

“Yes”

“Thats the new starphone model, the starphone X. It can do ANYTHING that you have ever seen! But I already told you that right”

“Yep”

Eventually, the sister called.

“Hey Bun!” She yelled. “We’re almost there!”

“Really!? I’m gonna tell Kirby about this!” The boy—Bun—replied.

And so, he immediately spoke to Kirby about it.

“Were almost there”

“REALLY!?”

Bun then sent a sticker of a smiley face nodding.

* * *

_ Dreamland _

While Kirby excitedly waited for his old friends to come, Zero watched in confusion. What he is exited about?

“Hey Kirby? What are you exited about?” Zero asked.

“Tiff and Tuff are coming poyo!” Kirby answered in excitement.

“Who?”

And then, there is a knock on the door. Zero panicked and immediately went under the bed. Whoever is this Tiff and Tuff, they may not like to see that Zero is with them. Even if they aren’t, he better hide. Unless of course it’s Bandana Waddle Dee and the Beanbon.

Wait, he heard those names before.

Tiff and Tuff...

Fumu and Bun?

Oh dear. He better not cry.

They hear a knock on the door, and two humanoid siblings walked through it.

As he expected, it is indeed the two siblings that assisted Kirby to defeating him long ago.

Kirby however, is overjoyed upon meeting the two. It is a long time since they have last met due to school after all.

The girl—Fumu—is the one who hugged the Fluffball first. And then Bun.

“Long time no see!” Fumu said as she let go of the hug. “How are things going?” She then added.

“Great poyo! I have _so _many adventures that I have gone through!” Kirby answered.

“Wow! You really can take care of yourself huh.” Fumu said.

“I would like to hear those adventures!” Bun said in excitement, moving just to emphasize his excitement.

“Sure!” The Fluffball nodded.

“Shall we go to the bakery first?” Fumu suggested. Upon hearing it, Bun and Kirby’s mouth are already drooling.

**“Sure!”** They both yell.

And so, they left the house, completely leaving Zero behind.

“...Kirby?” The red orb under the bed called, despite knowing that he won’t hear it.

The Fluffball looked back in worry. He didn’t want to leave him behind. But then, there are the things that he did a long time ago. Of course he _had_ to be left alone.

“What are you looking at?” Fumu asked.

“O-oh, the door isn’t closed.” Kirby answered, realizing that they haven’t closed the door. He immediately ran towards the door to close it, but didn’t lock it.

“Hey Zee-kun, I’m gonna leave the door open for you. Ok poyo?” Kirby whispered.

He immediately ran back to the group, and made their way towards the Bunny Bakery.

Fumu however looks back, as she always have suspicions about stuff. She then saw Zero about to come out of the door. Zero of course, realized it.

The girl stared at the demon as he slowly cowers behind the door in fear like a shy girl hiding behind a wall.

However, Fumu didn’t take any action and just looked away, focusing on the Bunny Bakery.

Despite the action, Zero followed after the group. Maybe it’s because Kirby is his comfort person, or just because of the cake.

Or maybe he can consult the Beanbon and the Bandana Waddle Dee?

He decided to follow first since he didn’t want to be alone in the house.

…

It’s not like he likes Kirby or anything! He just doesn’t want to be alone due to... personal issues.

Oh, lock the door first. Fumu will notice that something is weird if it isn’t.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don’t know the villain. I need some suggestions. Details at my Amino (Kirby) post about it.


	22. Nostalgic stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby explains why he is nice to everybody even towards obviously evil people.

Kirby, Fumu and Bun walked around the town after eating the cakes at the Bunny bakery. There is even a sign saying that Zero approved the pastry! The bunny claimed that it’s just a joke, luckily. Or else, things might go crazy.

Anyways, after eating some cake, Kirby decided to go visit King Dedede’s castle. With his friends.

Last time Fumu met the king, he always hates Kirby and tried to outright kick him out from this town using different kinds of tactics. Loads and loads of times.

Eventually, the king ran out of ideas (and his monster-delivery machine broke) so he is open to see the error of his ways. Kirby took this chance as he actually liked the king despite him trying to kick Kirby away by bringing monsters to cause trouble and being a jerk in general.

But all of that is in the past. He is now changed. Really! Their recent adventures have him teaming up with Kirby, Meta knight and one of his own Waddle Dees to fight evil!

Well, at least that’s what Kirby had told Fumu.

Meanwhile, at the balcony, Bandana Dee and the Beanbon are talking about the siblings.

“That Fumu person seems smart.” The Beanbon said, listening to Bandana Waddle Dee’s stories about the siblings.

“She is! She thwarted great king’s every single plan and kept him from kicking Kirby away from Caply town!” Bandana Dee moved around to emphasize the fact.

“Woah... really? That’s amazing!” The Beanbon remarked. However, she realized that there is an unfortunate implication.

“But... how about Zero?” The Beanbon asked. “If Fumu is smart that she can notice even the tiniest detail, then... what if she suspects that Zero is here somewhere?” She added, worry in her voice.

“Actually... you’re right.” Bandana Dee said.

The two then looked at the bright blue sky while the Waddle Dee is eating some leftover roasted soybeans that he didn’t get to eat from the Setsubun festival. 

After a while, Kirby came with the siblings. The other two immediately put up a straight face as if the conversation never happened.

”Hello.” Fumu greeted. “I’m Fumu. You must be Bandana Dee—” She said as she pointed towards the Waddle Dee. “—and Beanbon.” She continued, this time pointing towards the Beanbon.

“Yep, that’s me!” Bandana Dee nodded.

“And I’m Bun! You can call me Tuff if you like.” Bun introduced. “Nice to meet ya!” He added, shaking the Waddle Dee’s hand.

“So what do you want to do poyo?” Kirby asked.

“Hmm...” Everyone wondered.

Eventually, Bun got an idea.

“Hey! How about we meet Kirby’s other friends?” Bun suggested.

“Actually... yeah! Let’s do that!” The Beanbon said.

Although they want to go with Zero, they can’t. With all of the things that he have done, of course they have to hide them. The two hoped that Kirby locked the door, but... well?

* * *

Because the house not being locked, Zero roamed around the town. Due to this form being non-iconic, people didn’t recognize him.

He followed the five as they go somewhere.

Eventually, they reached some sort of mechanical house. Out comes a slender woman with a big head, big bug-like eyes and long pink hair.

“Ah, hello there Kirby!” The woman greeted in a different language which Zero recognized as English. The device that is a belt translated it to Japanese—the language most Dreamlanders speak.

“Hi Susie!” Kirby greeted back energetically. The belt heard the line and translated it for the woman named Susie.

Susie then saw the siblings and the Beanbon. “Hi there! I don’t think we’ve met.” She said. “Why didn’t Kirby tell me about them?” She then added under her breath.

“I’m Fumu.”

“Bun!”

“I...I don’t have a name.”

“Oh.” Susie said after hearing the Beanbon’s introduction. “Should I give you a name?” She then asked.

“No, I’m fine. You can call me Beanbon.”

“Ok!”

And then they entered the house, talking about things.

Eventually, Zero is brought up.

“Hey, I heard those rumors that Zero is somewhere.” Bun said. “Is that true?” He then asked.

Kirby, Bandana Dee and the Beanbon all shrugged.

“Oh... so you don’t know. Well, he must’ve been hidin’ so I don’t blame you. By the way, do any of you have any experiences with Dark Matter?

“Well, I took a part of him and made a clone!” Susie said. “Of course it’s not perfect so we threw a bunch of random stuff on it.” Susie said.

“So it _is _you who made 02 poyo!” Kirby said.

“Yep! Although I don’t know why we made him anyways, how about you guys?”

“They... I can’t tell you.” The Beanbon said. It looks like she doesn’t feel like telling the story right now.

“To be honest, the one that I remember the most is when the clone attacked. But I think I have seen the original Dark Matter takeover too!” Bandana Dee said.

“Us?” Fumu decided to ask. “You see, it’s a long time ago.” She then begin to tell the story from the time when Zero attacked.

* * *

“One day, Kirby is fishing with a friend named Gooey who is recently traveling Popstar from what I have heard. When one day, dark clouds swirled around King Dedede’s castle. The began by taking over the king and everybody inside it.

“‘Dedede’ then began stealing food in order to lure Kirby to saving the day. Those creatures knew that Kirby is strong. After all, he defeated Nightmare a year before!

“However, without knowing at the time, we collected their only weakness: the Rainbow Drops and the Heart Stars. We then used them to form the two weapons: the Rainbow Sword and the Love-Love Stick.”

“That’s still a lame name!” Bun interrupted. Everybody then gave some weird looks to Bun.

“Ok fine, I’ll shut up.” Bun then said with annoyance.

Fumu then continued narrating. “Eventually, The final battle took place. Kirby held on the Love-Love Stick while I—holding the Rainbow Sword—fought against the corruption.

“Kirby took care of it real quick, defeating Zero—the mastermind of it all.”

“I still remember the time that he cried so much because he couldn’t save him.” Bun said, with sadness in his tone.

“Really? I think it is because Gooey is gone!” Fumu pointed out.

“But how do you explain his crying _after _we learn that Gooey _is _still alive!?” Bun then asked.

Fumu is in loss of words. Kirby always tells her that he missed Gooey so much. She understands why though; Kirby is the one who found Gooey and took good care of him. However, he initially didn’t take the reveal that the blob that he took care of is a member of the Dark Matter species very nicely. The Fluffball felt betrayed by the blob, thinking that he is going to strike just like the time with Marx sometime ago.

However, after the battle, Kirby had a change of heart. He now believes that everybody had a good side, even though he cannot see it. It’s timing and kindness that would make the kind side come out of hiding.

That is what made Fumu confused. Is it because Gooey did something that made Kirby trust others again even if they came from Nightmare like that robot dog? She decided to ask Kirby about this.

Meanwhile, Kirby is also in a loss of words. Thing is, Bun _is_ right. He cried because he thought that he didn’t save Zero from his suffering. Kirby lied because people might think that he is crazy and because it is sort of the truth.

“Um, Kirby?” Fumu called.

“What?” Kirby replied.

“What made you believe that everyone had a good side?” Fumu asked. Coincidentally, Zero—who always wondered that—is chiming in without anyone noticing.

At first, Kirby is hesitant. However, he felt bad that he lied a long time ago and that Fumu still believed his lies. So, he decided to make up for it. 

“You might think that I’m crazy but... it’s because of Zero.” Kirby answered.

Fumu blinked in surprise and disbelief. “Why is that?” She asked.

“It’s because he taught me...” Kirby began to talk. “Taught me that everybody has their own reasons why they are evil in the first place poyo. That’s why I wanted to help everybody poyo. I didn’t want anyone to suffer just like how Zee-kun did poyo. Of course, he didn’t know that.”

“Zero, huh...” Fumu said under her breath.

Everybody is surprised. Zero is also surprised. _He _of all people is the one who made Kirby the nice little Fluffball he is today?

Goes on to show that they’re designed for each other... in some way.

Why did he thought about that all of a sudden?

_ To be continued... _


	23. Spiders and Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends decided to talk with Taranza with the siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zero? Nope. Not here. 
> 
> At least there are mentions.

The five friends decided to go somewhere. They decided to head to the Dreamstalk.

"So this thing lifted Kirby's house and the king's castle?" Fumu asked.

"Yup!" Kirby said. "I was shocked, but hey! The Florians put it back, so it isn't a big deal!" He added.

"So that's why Kirby's house is in a place different from what I remember." Fumu said under her breath.

The five climbed up the Dreamstalk and reached Sectonia's castle.

"So... let me get this straight." The Beanbon began. "A boy fell in love with the queen that he gave a present that unknowingly corrupted said queen and you and the boy have to kill her because there is no other choice. Right?" She recapped.

"Yeah. I still get uncomfortable every time I think about it poyo." Kirby answered with a sad smile.

Eventually, they are on the cloud where the castle is. The castle is way different from Dedede's. There are carefully arranged flowers everywhere, everything is nice, clean and relaxing, and to top it all up, Taranza came.

Taranza is an insect-like creature who looks like a spider but isn't since he has six floating hands with no feet. He just floats. The not-spider has horns and a hairdo which looks like a helmet. Don't worry, Kirby thought it is one too.

"Hello Kirby." Taranza greeted. Oh, so we have some new visitors here, huh." He added when he saw the three newbies.

"I'm Bun, and this is Fumu." Bun introduced. "You can call me Tuff."

"Nice to meet you, Tuff." Taranza said, much to Bun's delight. "And who's this little fella?" The non-spider asked upon seeing the Beanbon.

"Um... I don't have a name. You c-can call me... Beanbon." The Beanbon said shyly.

"Ah, I see. Wait, where's Ze-"

Taranza is suddenly cut by Bandana Dee quickly covering his mouth.

"You're not supposed to say that in front of the kids! They don't know he's back yet!" The Waddle Dee whispered.

"Oh."

Bandana Dee then let go.

"What was that?" Fumu asked.

"Uh... nothing! It's just he's about to say a foul word." Bandana Dee lied.

"I'm ok with foul words." Bun said. "After all, I'm a fucking_ teenager!"_ He added, not knowing that Kirby is with them too.

Because of the boy saying that word, he got some weird looks from everyone else in the castle.

"Bun, Kirby hasn't reached puberty yet." Fumu pointed out.

"Oh. Whoops."

Everybody is silent as the boy scratched his head and letting out a nervous laugh.

"…"

**"I'm sorry!" **Bun suddenly apologized to the Fluffball.

"It's ok!" Kirby said, patting the boy's back. "I don't mind!"

* * *

Right now, they are at the balcony where they can see the Dreamstalk from afar. There are some tables decorated with a purple rug covering them all. the chairs are just simple wooden chairs made out of dark oak.

The Beanbon had to leave because of her job demanding her. that leaves Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee, the siblings, and Taranza sitting by the table.

"Hey Taranza." Fumu called.

"Yes?"

"Why did you corrupt someone that you loved in the first place?"

Silence.

"W-Well..." Bandana Dee decided to explain. However...

"I didn't." Taranza interrupted with a sad face. It seems like he still hasn't let go of his love yet.

"What do you mean?" Fumu blinked in confusion.

"I... I didn't know that the mirror that I gave to her is not normal." the non-spider explained. "If I knew that... we would live happily as we did back in the past." He added, with tears coming out from his eyes.

"Then... how about the mirror?" Fumu asked.

"You know... you're right." Kirby said. "We don't know what happened to the Dimensional Mirror!" He added, face full of panic. The last time Kirby had encountered the mirror, things didn't go well. Most of their mirror counterparts are evil. So evil that they took over the Mirror World that used to grant wishes until their hostile takeover. This, in turn, made the magic in the mirror corrupt. So corrupt that Kirby thought that he removed it completely.

"Thing is... I can't destroy it completely." Taranza said with a sad face. “It’s too strong. Way too strong. The only thing that I managed to do is to put it back to where it belongs—even higher at the sky—after many attempts of breaking it to pieces.”

“I see.” Fumu said with thoughts in her mind.

“I have been wondering about a certain someone.” Kirby said.

“And who is that someone?” Taranza asked.

“It’s Dark Mind poyo.”

Everybody fell silent. Dark Mind is a hard person to talk about in a topic. After all, he did attempt to rule the Mirror World and traumatized everyone in it. Normal-verse Taranza included.

“I was thinking. Who is the regular version of him? What is he like? Is he a nice person? Is there even one poyo?” Kirby asked.

“I... I never thought of that.” Taranza said. “I think we will never know. After all, there is no way we can connect people to the real version except looks!

Immediately, the four began thinking. Eventually, someone probably guessed it.

“I bet it’s Nightmare’s!” Bun guessed.

“But he doesn’t have any glasses!” Fumu pointed out. “I think it’s Zero’s!”

The other three decided to tell their own theories of who is Dark Mind.

“I think he’s the embodiment of mirrors. Well, he isn’t the one who invented mirrors, but made with them.” Bandana Waddle Dee theorized.

“But then, reflection existed _before _mirrors!” Fumu pointed out. “So maybe he’s the god of, hmm... reflection!”

“Yeah. I can totally see that. After all, there’s Zero, god of nothing! Literally!” Taranza said with a smile, forgetting about the conversation about queen Sectonia that they had a minute ago.

”You’re right! I can totally see that!” Bun added.

“Me too poyo!” Kirby replied.

And so, they kept on going with the conversation about who is Dark Mind and why he turned evil in the first place despite being an evil creature who traumatized everyone. And before they knew it, it is nighttime.

“I had fun with you guys. Thank you for visiting my majesty’s castle!” Taranza said as he waved goodbye.

The four also waved goodbye as they climbed down. Eventually, when they lose sight of him, they stopped.

* * *

The four reached the ground. They decided to end the day here.

They exchanged their goodbyes as they left, promising that the will see them tommorow.

Where did they decided to go tommorow they ask? To Marx’s place.

_ To be continued... _


	24. Clichés aren’t funny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby & friends visit Marx who dismisses clichés as... clichés.

Kirby and his friends went to Marx’s house. It is a regular oak treehouse with nothing weird. There is also a ball pump nearby just lying on the ground. Fumu is surprised that it hasn’t been stolen yet as it seemed like it’s been used for years.

But then again, he did make the sun and moon fight all of these years ago so he can trick Kirby to make a wish, making the Fluffball vulnerable to be kicked out before making a wish so the jester could make his instead.

She still doesn’t know how he made the sun and the moon fight however.

However, it doesn’t mean that she trusts him.

Fumu saw through his lies and facade during that time, but isn’t sure if that’s her imagination or not. It surprised her since her suspicions are always correct by that point.

Unsurprisingly, she’s correct. Again.

Sometimes, the girl thinks that she is the definition of a Mary Sue.

Anyways, back to the point. The five friends climbed up the wooden ladder and knocked on the door.

“Hello?” A Fluffball-like creature with no arms and big eyes wearing a jester’s hat came out of the door. “Ah, it you guys!” Marx enthusiastically said.

“Hi Marx!” Kirby greeted.

“Hello! Huh? We seem to have some visitors here.”

“Yeah! We decided to give them a tour.”

“Cool! So... if I remember correctly...” Marx recalled. “You’re Bandana Waddle Dee,” The Waddle Dee nodded. “Tuff,” Bun did a thumbs up. “And Tiff.” Fumu is not happy.

“It’s Fumu.” She grumpily said.

“Oh. And you are...?” The jester then pointed towards the Beanbon.

“Um... I don’t have a name.” The Beanbon said.

“Really? Can I think up a name for ya?” Marx asked.

“No thanks. You can call me Beanbon.”

“I see.” Marx then put up a thoughtful face. “Ok then! Beanbon it is.” He added with a playful smile on his face.

The five went in the house. Surprisingly, it’s colorful unlike the exterior. The interior had a playful aura to it as there are beach balls, swings, all of that stuff you see at your typical circus. If anything, it seemed to be bigger than the exterior. At the same time, a sinister aura lingered. It looks like only Fumu felt it. Might have been the knives that are obviously on display.

“What are all of these knives?” Fumu decided to ask.

“Why it’s my knife collection! You seem to be interested in that. Would you like to see it?” Marx answered with his usual playful tone.

“Uh, um... no thanks. Why would you collect knives anyways?”

“Why would you ask?” Bun interrupted. “Besides, it looks like a circus!” He added in awe.

“Yeah!” Marx added.

After a little bit of talking, Marx decided to leave.

“I’m sorry guys, but I have to go fill up my knife collection!” Marx exchanges his goodbye. After that, he slammed the door shut.

Silence.

“Seriously, what’s up with him and all of these knives?” Bandana Dee asked.

Kirby shrugged. He didn’t want to think of it.

* * *

As Marx walked through town, he saw a red orb sleeping on a tree. It looks like he is about to fall down. Why did the orb decided to sleep at the day? Well, he didn’t think about it.

Marx decided to do nothing. Instead, watching as the red orb tried to balance on the branch... and failing miserably.

In other words, the orb fell face first on the ground.

The orb is about to give the jester a rant, but immediately cried a high-pitched meep upon the sight of him in fear that he might accidentally give a clue of who he truly is, and Kirby isn’t here to help him.

Since the orb was a planet destroyer, the natural reaction to this accidental meep is to turn around in embarrassment.

“Uhhh... Zero, isn’t it?” Marx recalled.

At this point, he froze.

…

…

…

...Zero isn’t supposed to be like that, isn’t he?

After what felt like hours, the demon decided to pull out his knife. However, the jester’s reaction isn’t the one that he was expecting.

“Oh. My. God. Is that a knife made out of iron!?” Marx said in awe, staring towards the knife as if it is a very expensive diamond necklace. “Such things are rare, but that’s sooooo cool! Where did you find it?”

Zero is confused why this little critter decided that it’s a good idea to stare into a knife instead of actually fighting.

“Oops, my bad.” Marx immediately stepped away upon realizing that he had been distracted. “Now... what is it that we are doing? Oh! I’m Marx. Nice to meet you Zero!” He then introduced

“You... you won’t tell anyone?” Zero asked, confused.

“Yep!” Marx nodded. “After all, people might think that I’m lying if I did.” He added.

“But... why?” Zero asked, putting away his knife.

“Why? I told you that earlier! Do you have amnesia or something?” Marx answered, doing poses to emphasize his point.

“N-no, not like that. It’s just... why didn’t you kill me?” Zero added with confusion and nervousness in his tone. He really isn’t used to talking to people without his friend by his side.

“Why I didn’t kill you? Well... long story short, Kirby told me about that earlier. Your past I mean.”

“...What?”

“Yeah! The cliché that is being abused!”

“…” Zero stared towards the jester as if he has been insulted. Even though abuse might be cliché, it is still a serious problem.

“What? That’s the truth!” Marx said in an insulting manner. He shouldn’t have said that as Zero is pretty much pissed off.

“You... you’re one of these people huh.” The demon hissed as he pulled out his knife once again. “So you are those people who doesnt give a shit about anyone who had been through traumatic experiences, huh.” He added in a calm but sinister tone.

“Um... yep.” Marx brittely answered, knowing what’s going to happen next.

“̴Y̴o̷u̸ ̸d̴e̷s̴e̶r̵v̴e̷ ̷t̸o̷ ̵d̷i̸e̶.̵ ̷Y̷o̷u̸ ̵d̵e̵s̸e̶r̶v̸e̴ ̸t̴o̴ ̶b̴e̶ ̷k̵i̸l̶l̶e̵d̴!̷”̸ The demon yelled. Marx knew what it meant. He definitely pissed him off.

**“̵̙̠͋͂͜͝K̸̦̲̑͗î̸̧̼̦̔r̴͉̺̆b̷̯̘̭̊ÿ̸̗͊͆ ̴̨͎̙̈́̉̋s̷̺̼̖̐̒͆h̴̠̞͂o̴͍̚̕ù̴̜̙l̴̘̐d̴̍̊͜ ̷̱̃ĥ̵̝͙̎a̵̦̫͓̾v̶̫̩͊̈ė̷͎̭̟̒̆ ̵̳̆́f̴́͝ͅụ̷͓͙̃̉͝c̷͈̥̘̉̎k̷͖̈̾í̷̪̤͔͛̏ǹ̴̞̙̩g̴̨̺͋͋́ ̸̧͐͛̌ͅk̶̯͍̃̃i̵̖̻̞͠l̴͇̊l̸͎̐͜e̴͎̤͋d̶̼͠ ̴̺̭͂̅̅ỵ̸̧̤̕o̵̫͛̈́́ủ̶̳͎̻!̷̭̖͛͜”̶̗̊̽ͅ**

The demon then swung the knife with the intent of killing the jester.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s just a joke!” Marx apologized, but it is not enough to calm down the demon as he kept swinging the knife.

Eventually, Kirby came.

“Z-Zee-kun!? What do you think you’re doing!?” Kirby asked in shock. The Fluffball pulled him off away while the demon is still yelling with his multiple voices about how Marx probably doesn’t even respect the dead.

Kirby patted Zero at the back. “Calm down Zee-kun. It’s ok now.”

“It’s that... it’s that this guy dismissed abuse as a joke.” Zero tiredly said. “Even if it is a joke, it’s not funny.”

“Hmm...” Kirby thought hard. Just as Zero thought he would force him to be friends with Marx, Kirby whispered a plan to the demon.

And oh boy, it is going to be great.

* * *

Kirby returned to the treehouse to see that the others are playing cards.

“Oh, hey Kirby.” The Beanbon is the first one to greet.

Immediately after that, they heard the buzz of the bees and Marx’s scream from the distance.

“Let me in, **LET ME IN!” **The jester yelled as he banged the door. Kirby, being the nice person he is, let him in.

Suddenly, wasps came inside the house! The four immediately jumped off the window and ran away while the siblings stood still.

Thing is, Kirby’s plan is about Zero possessing Marx and disturbing a wasp nest. Since Zero is a demon infamous for destroying planets, he threatened the jester to not say anything about this plan or else he’ll kill him.

At least Fumu thinks that he deserved it since he did diss abuse victims in their conversation back at the house.

Life is not a show. At all. Marx learned it the hard way as he dismissed being chased by bees and/or wasps as a cliché too. And now he _is _being chased by wasps. Talk about irony!

Eventually, the wasps went home, and well, Marx got stung a lot. Looks like the siblings heard their parents’ advice and stood still throughout.

“I deserved that, did I?” Marx said, obviously in pain.

“Yep. You do.” Is Kirby’s answer.

_ To be continued... _


	25. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curio finds some ruins.

The quintet decided to go to where the Lor Starcutter is residing. the siblings always wondered what kind of discoveries the residents have found during the time that they are gone. 

It looks like it's at some sort of ruins. There are pictures of Dark Matter and other things painted on the walls.

At the site, they saw Magolor talking to a Cappy with light grey hair at the side of his head and a mustache of the same color. The group recognized him as Curio, a Cappy who worked at the local museum.

"Hi Curio! Long time no see!" Fumu greeted energetically. After all, she liked history, and in extension, the Cappy's museum.

The Cappy turned back. "Ah, hi Tiff!" He greeted.

"I said stop calling me that." Fumu's tone immediately changed to an annoyed tone. "How many times do I have to tell you it's Fumu?"

"Sorry, it's just more catchy than the name Fumu."

While Fumu is not convinced, it is the truth. Curio is surprised that even if the girl is like a detective, she failed to see the truth. But then again, it depends on person to person on which one is easier to say.

"Umm..." Kirby raised his hand. "Why are you talking with Magolor poyo?" He asked.

"Oh, you mean this little fella? He's my helper!" The Cappy said. "He is a little trickster, but he did a lot of help with my work!" He added. Magolor waved his hand. Kirby waved back in response.

Now Fumu is curious. "What kinds of discoveries did you find?" She asked.

Magolor decided to talk. "Dark Matter, of course!" He cheerfully said, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Well, it kind of is.

The five are now dumbfounded. Why are the two researching things about the creatures that tried to destroy Popstar years ago?

Bun decided to guess. "Is it because of the rumors?" He asked.

The two researchers nodded. "Good guess Bun. Upon hearing those rumors, I've realized that we don't know much about them! So I asked Magolor to research those creatures, and well..." Curio then trailed off. He seemed distressed.

The Demon Dream team are now scared. did they find Zero? The three are now worried. The siblings are worried too. Are those rumors real?

Luckily for all of them, it is neither. "We have found these ruins around here which depicts the species as... sympathetic, shall I say." Curio said.

"So you're saying, there are some ruins that confirm Kirby's views on the species as a whole?" Bandana Waddle Dee asked.

"Nah, it might have been Dedede trying to make Kirby leave once that poor little fluff finds out that they're fake." Bun theorized. However, Fumu disagrees 

"As Fumu suggested, these ruins are indeed real!" Curio said. "We've run through several checks on this thing and none of these results came out as fake! This _must _be the discovery of the decade—no, the _century!" _he dramatically said.

"Umm... Curio?" Magolor tapped against the Cappy's shoulder as if the Halcandran is telling him that he is being a little too dramatic. Said Cappy realized this and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Right. Since all of you are here, why not take a look? Just be careful, since these ruins are fragile. After all, it is made over thousands of years ago." Curio said.

However, Bandana Dee remembered about the Crystal Crayons and that someone is trying to destroy them. What if one of them is already broken because they are too late? he decided to tell Kirby and the Beanbin about this.

"Umm... guys? How about the Crystal Crayons?" Bandana Dee asked.

Kirby heard it, and then an idea came formed on his head.

"Hey, how about we meet with Galactic NOVA?" he suggested.

"Is that the comet who grants wishes to whoever collects the stars from the Fountains of Dreams on different planets?" The Beanbon asked. Kirby nodded.

"What are you going to do with the NOVA anyways?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Simple!" Kirby answered immediately. "To find out where they are!" He added.

The Waddle Dee and the Beanbon's eyes perked up. "That is a great idea, Kirby!" The Beanbon said.

"Kirby, do you want to go to the ruins or not?" Curio asked politely.

"Umm... no thanks."

"Me too."

"Me three."

"You see, we're quite busy here. Maybe next time?" Kirby then added after the two.

"I see. Oh well. go on your day. Tiff, Tuff, shall we go now?"

And thus, they went. The Beanbon had to be left behind because she doesn't think that she can do it. Well, it looks like she is going to tell the demon about this, huh.

In any case, he's not going to be happy about this. And the next thing she knows, she is going to be training hard. _Real_ hard.

_ To be continued... _


	26. Even Demons Have Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero has a nightmare.

_Zero in his shell form flew as fast as he could, running away from the people blaming him for some crime that he doesn't know, and probably never committed._

_The inexperienced god felt the wind and the branches of the trees as he flew past by, but this is no time to feel._

_Maybe because he accidentally trampled the crops on a rice field and didn't notice? Maybe it's because he accidentally bumped onto someone due to his huge size? He doesn't know, but there is no time for guessing. He _had_ to get away from them as quickly as possible._

_The inexperienced deity flew past the trees, breaking them due to his huge size. In turn, his size makes it easy to get himself shot with arrows from the villagers._

_It is painful, but he has no choice but to endure it and flee somewhere where no one hates him._

_Too bad for him, Zero has been cornered. He could just fly to the sky and just stay at space, but he can't do it yet._

_He stopped flying when he saw more people with their weapons. Left, right, they're there. There is no escape from them._

_Many people have their weapons on their hands. He can't attack even if he wants to, as that is the rules of being a god._

_"Help me!" Zero yelled..._

_...but nobody came. _

_No one is supporting him._

_No one is helping him. _

_No one is defending him. _

_Thus, pain rained down on him. Piercing through his fleshy shell like it was just a giant pile of mochi._

_No one... had a positive influence..._

...when he was an inexperienced god all of those years ago.

Zero had a nightmare. He woke up falling face-first to the floor from the drawer, vision blurry thanks to the red tears that came out from him due to the nightmare he had.

That nightmare... was that a memory from the past?

Yes. More precisely, the time before he decided that things are better off without everything. It was the beginning of an endless abuse that always end up in pain that he had to resign.

Kirby woke up a little bit earlier and saw the demon in this scared state.

"What's wrong?" Kirby asked.

"..." Zero wanted to answer, but he is too scared by the nightmare. Kirby can tell that something is wrong due to his eye being watery as if he is about to cry. Well, he _is_ crying though.

Speaking of crying, great. Now the "do not look" drawer is now stained with blood and the drawings inside are now stained. And also eroded thanks to the blood being acidic. 

"I told you that sleeping there is a bad idea." Kirby said in a somewhat angry tone.

Zero nodded without a word, but in a sadder way rather than his usual annoyed way.

Something is wrong. Kirby threw away the plan to clean the drawers for another day since he never thought that anyone other than the Demon Dream team is going to enter his house.

And so, he asked again.

"What's wrong, poyo?" He asked again, this time patting the demon's back.

"I... I just had a nightmare." Is Zero's answer.

"N... nightmare!?" Kirby said in shock. “That means... Oh no! The Fountain of Dreams! There must be something wrong with it!" Kirby yelled in realization. "I'll check it out. Stay here Zee-kun!" He added as he sprinted towards the door, only to be stopped by Zero pulling him with his cold but invisible hands.

The cold temperature came as a surprise to him, even though he had copied the ice ability a handful of times during some of his adventures.

"I... I don't think the Fountain of Dreams is actually in trouble." Zero explained, letting go of his friend. "It is... it's my punishment for mass murder from all of those years ago." He added, breaking eye contact.

Kirby is silent throughout. Not even the Fountain of Dreams can help Zero from nightmares, it seems.

Instead, the pink Fluffball decided to hug the red demon, both have watery eyes.

"I'm sorry Zee-kun."

"It's ok, it isn't your fault."

_ Present _

"...and that's why I have to be with Zee-kun today poyo. He trusts me the most poyo."

"I see." Bandana Dee said in a sad tone. "That's a shame. I would like to go with you, but I guess that's for next time." He added.

"S-so... I've got to have an adventure? That's... that's cool!" The Beanbon said in a nervous but cheerful tone.

And so, Kirby gave them the Warpstar, one of the items needed to summon NOVA.

"See you soon." Kirby said, waving his hand towards the group.

"Yeah. We’ll see you soon." Bandana Dee said, also waving. He then looked down with a sad face. 

"What's wrong?" The Beanbon asked.

"Oh, it's just nothing. Shall we go now?"

"S-sure!" The Beanbon nodded.

_ To be continued... _


	27. Abandoning Friendships?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bandana Dee and the Beanbon felt like they are abandoned by Kirby.

"So you're going with us after all?" Fumu asked.

"Yeah. Turns out, I'm not busy after all, poyo." Kirby answered.

Kirby decided to go back to the ruins with Zero following behind without being spotted.

As they talk about things and prepared their equipment, they decided to enter with Curio and Magolor.

And so, they entered the ruins.

* * *

The five held on to their flashlights, flashing the lights to illuminate the way. Eventually, Curio flashed a light towards a mural.

It depicts Dark Matter attacking two planets, one being pure black and the other being in pieces.

"What does that mean?" Fumu asked, pointing towards the mural.

"Hmm..." Curio said, analyzing the mural. Knowing Dark Matter, there is one way this can be interpreted.

"It looks like it's depicting how Dark Matter destroys planets. They cover one completely with their dark bodies, then attack the planet at its weakest!" Curio concluded.

Magolor suddenly tapped on the Cappy's shoulder, then pointed towards Bun, who is shivering a little bit.

"That's... That's not scary at all!" Bun slightly stuttered, crossing his arms and turning away from the mural.

Well, it seems like he had forgotten the fact that these ruins are filled with Dark Matter-related stuff.

When the boy turned around, he saw a big red eye—with multiple others (albeit not red)—staring towards him, which made him scream like a little girl. As a result, he hugged his sister and the pink Fluffball _really_ tight.

Luckily, it is just another mural. Zero—who is still watching from the shadows—mentally facepalmed. After all, he doesn't have hands. Well, he does albeit invisible, but he doesn't use it as much.

"Bun, that's just another mural!" Fumu said, giggling. The others are giggling too.

"Hey! That's_ not_ funny!" Bun lashed out. Even after 10 years, he hasn't changed that much, it seems.

After that burst of giggling, they continued.

* * *

_Floria, not to be mistaken for Floralia_

As the Beanbon and Waddle Dee press on through the seasons, they decided to go inside of a cave. The cave is dark, but at least no one is living inside it.

"Whew! That's scary!" The Beanbon said.

"At least we did it. High five!" Bandana Waddle Dee said as he raises his hand.

"..."

"Right, you don't have hands. Oops." He scratched his head in embarrassment, realizing that the Beanbon doesn't have hands.

"It's ok, I get that most of the time." The Beanbon said, looking a little bit sad.

Both sat down as they waited for the other to say something.

"..."

"Well... do you... feel... useless?" Bandana Dee asked. 

"Me? I'm still afraid of Zero since he doesn't want me to just sit around doing nothing so... yeah. I do feel useless." Is the Beanbon's answer. "I don't feel like fangirling towards Kirby anymore."

The Waddle Dee sighed. He brought up his spear, a piece of cloth, and started cleaning. "I do too." He said. "I feel like I'm pushed by the sidelines because Kirby is focused on that stupid orb." He added, venom coming out when he said the last two words.

"Oh... oh dear. That's... that's sad." The Beanbon said.

The atmosphere around them became uneasy. Bandana Dee continued cleaning his spear while the Beanbon looked down in worry.

"To be honest, I'm worried about Kirby." The Beanbon said, finally looking up. "If he keeps ignoring us, how would he hide the fact that Zero is alive and running around?" 

"...well, who knows."

Silence.

"To be honest," Bandana Dee began. "You're pretty great back there. Your coconuts are really useful!" He added, patting the Beanbon at the back.

"T-thanks. I needed that." The Beanbon said with a smile. 

They then watch as the sun sets down behind the mountains. For some reason, they feel sleepy.

While they tried to fight back, they decided to give up. After all, it was a tough day.

* * *

_Popstar_

The five decided to rest at the least creepy mural that they can find. It is about how another god defeated Zero with—of course—the power of love from herself and the mortals.

"I wonder why though." Fumu said. "After all, You said that these ruins depict Zero in a sympathetic way!" She added in confusion. 

"Oh, well... that's because it's further to the ruins did they depict him that way!" Curio explained.

Fumu looked at the Cappy with a doubtful face. However, Kirby being a bit sad made her drop that thought.

"What's wrong, Kirby?" Fumu asked. 

"I think I'm abandoning my new friends, poyo." Kirby answered, not making eye contact. "I think I haven't talked to them that much, poyo. One of them is a fan of mine!" He added in worry, locking his eyes towards Fumu.

"R-Really?" Fumu said in shock. In response, the Fluffball nodded, breaking eye contact. 

"Bandee, Beanie... They're... they're my friends poyo." Kirby teared up. Despite using nicknames, Fumu knew exactly who Kirby is talking about. "They look up to me! And I'm... I'm being a bad role model for them..." He added.

"..."

At this point, the other three noticed the Fluffball and the girl confronting each other. It's sad to see them like this.

They then came close, cuddling the little Fluffball.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Zero watched as it all happened.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." He said under his breath. "I think I'm doing it too, abandoning that Waddle Dee and Beanbon..."

All of them patted Kirby, causing him to purr.

"Stop! You're tickling me!" Kirby said, giggling. They all stopped when he said that. After all, they are his friends.

"Thanks, I needed it." Kirby said with a hearty smile.

And at that moment, Zero actually smiled. It kind of stings due to positive emotion being poison for him, but hey. At least it's for the best.

Now that he thought about it... maybe that's why nobody did give him love and support during the old days...

Oh well. At least Kirby is happy.

_ To be continued... _


	28. Three Slices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby & friends explore the ruins while Bandana Dee and the Beanbon continue their adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, I think seventy chapters are too much.

A day has passed, but the explorers haven't noticed it. After all, they cannot tell the time because they are inside a cave-like structure.

It _is_ in some temple-ish ruins after all.

Eventually, they end up in a room filled with stuff. In the middle, there is a glass jar filled with a red substance, sealed using a stone cap.

"Don't tell me that's blood." Bun shivered.

This time, the Halcandran decided to look.

"Hmm..." Magolor removed the cap, pulled out his eyedroppers, picked up the substance, and dropped it on a glass plate. He then carefully put the cap back on, brought out his microscope, slid the plate onto it, then looked through its lens.

After a good look, he pulled out the sample.

"Yep. This thing's blood. Zero's blood-tears to be exact." Magolor concluded as he put the plate in a bag.

Bun hid behind Kirby, visibly shaking. He can't pretend anymore. Kirby patted the boy in response, trying to comfort him.

"Why is that there anyways?" Fumu asked in confusion.

"Hmm..." Curio looked around the ruins for answers. He read everything that he can find. Magolor joined in the search too, probably because he can read them better than the Cappy.

As they brought out their magnifying glass and searched around for even the tiniest detail (not that they need to), they have found the answer.

"It seems like it's there so they can learn everything they can about that eyeball." Curio said in thought.

"It might have been over a hundred years old... yet, it looks like it's new and fresh." Magolor pointed out. "Must have been how Dark Matter blood works." He theorized.

"I see." Fumu said with wonder as she wrote it all down in her journal.

* * *

Back with the Beanbon and Bandana Waddle Dee, they already had three stars. They are now going to Hotbeat, a planet known for its... hotness.

The two have landed on the planet by a Warpstar. This Warpstar is simply a replica of a real Warpstar, where this one lets anyone pilot it no matter who they are.

And before you ask, yes, they still have Kirby’s Warpstar.

They landed on the planet and...

The floor is hot.

"HOTHOTHOTHOT" the two yelled as they ran around mindlessly like headless chicken due to the hard and hot floor. Luckily, they grabbed a bottle of water from Aquarius and poured onto their feet.

As steam rose towards the sky, the two sign in relief... only for the heat to slowly come back.

"We... we should get going." The Beanbon said.

"Yeah!" Bandana Dee then grabbed the Beanbon's leaf, then ran before they get hot again.

"How does Kirby survive this!?"

"No idea!" He yelled on top of his lungs as the heat is reaching to the both of them.

At least they have some spare bottles of water. Too bad they have forgotten about their existence.

* * *

At this point, Zero decided to leave the ruins without a word and went back to the Bunny Bakery to get some chocolate cake to cheer himself up despite nothing bad happening at the ruins... yet.

As always, not many people are coming in this place despite the local restaurant still being a gross mess even after a decade later from what he has heard. It got to a point where a mirror clone of Meta knight—who once tried to kill Kirby a few years ago—was hired for his superb cooking skills.

Yeah... this world is pretty weird.

He went in to get the usual cake. If anything, he has been totally fooled when he heard that the bakery is going to close. Nope, it’s not true. That one is just an April fools’ prank.

Zero decided that he hates April 1st. ‘Fuck April fools’.’ He thought. But then, he can get the benefit of causing havoc and disguise that as an April fools joke. Except someone has to say “April fools!” and make the damage reversible to make it look genuine.

He then realized that he hasn’t eaten his cake yet. It seems like the bunny realized it too.

After the bunny gave a Waddle Dee his order, the bunny went to the table where the little demon sits.

“What’s wrong?” She asked with a polite tone. This act shocked the demon as shop keepers don’t usually do this.

“W-what?” Zero asked in confusion.

“I said what’s wrong?” She repeated with the same tone.

“Um, nothing. Just still salty about that prank you pulled a few days ago.” Zero answered, looking away from the bunny.

“I see.” After that, she walked away. After all, she has a job to do. Not before she glanced back at the table to see if the red orb is really ok.

When the bunny is out of his sight, Zero began eating his cake.

When suddenly...

“W-wait!”

Zero turned around to see that the bunny ran to his table.

“Um, well... umm...” The bunny scratched her head, not knowing what she is supposed to say.

“What?” Zero asked.

“Ah, you know what? Let’s talk about this later.” The bunny decided. “Meet me at ten PM, closing time.” She added. The demon simply nodded without a single word.

And thus, the bunny continued to do her job, leaving a dumbfounded Zero behind.

_ To be continued... _


	29. Whipped Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bunny talks to the demon.

_ Zero's POV _

It's now nighttime as I waited at the Bunny Bakery to close. The crescent moon is up, as it has always has been ever since Kirby defeated Nightmare and his company at the moon.

I was surprised when I heard about it. I thought he is invincible since he's just a dream. A bad dream. But Kirby took advantage of that.

I don't know the details, but from what I have heard, Kirby used the power of his Warpstar to create the Star Rod, a weapon thought to be gone forever.

But, there is the Fountain of Dreams in this planet, and that one has the Star Rod. But Kirby still has his Warpstar so... how the fuck did this happen? Is the Star Rod at the fountain the real thing? If so, what the heck is the Star Rod Kirby got from copying his Warpstar!?

I groan as I kept thinking about that shit that is the Star Rod as I wait for the bakery to close. I already got my chocolate cake so I won't go in there. After all, I don't want her to suffer overworking.

...it's pretty weird.

It's weird that I—a demon who wanted everyone to suffer and die—don't want this bunny to suffer from karoshi.

(For those English speakers who happen to watch... or read my adventures, karoshi means death by overwork. That's a word that exists in the Japanese language.)

Speaking of suffering, Kirby has been gone for a while. He told me that he will go back here today, so I left the ruins to wait for him.

After all... I wanted to forget about that place.

But with him there... I'm actually worried.

Worried that Kirby might have accidentally spilled the beans, as the mortals say. Or worse, dead.

Suddenly, I remembered. Since I am literally nothing, I decided to use my 'all-seeing' power to watch him from afar. Luckily, it seems like he and his friends are ok, but Bun is shaking because of course. I don't want to admit it anymore, but it is amusing.

I sigh in relief, knowing my friend is fine. But I'm still worried if he is going to be ok.

Before I went too deep in my thoughts, the lights at the bakery turned off, and there I saw the pink bunny, closing the shutter of the entrance door and... well, everything else.

I hopped towards the bunny, but I stabbed myself on a somewhat pointy rock.

"Meep!" I accidentally squeaked as I removed that pesky rock away. I hoped that she didn't hear it. 

Too bad she heard it. Was it _that_ painful?

"Oh, you're here already." The bunny said, surprised by my sudden arrival.

I nodded, not saying a single word just in case.

"So... have you heard of those rumors about the sighting of Dark Matter around here?" The bunny asked.

I nod. Still not saying a word.

"I... see." She said. "Wait, why are you not talking?" She then asked, realizing my silence.

Right. I yelled towards her when I first ate that tasty chocolate cake. It seems like there is no pretending now.

"I... I was a bit nervous." I say.

"Oh, right. I'm kind of sorry about that. I was nervous too." The bunny nervously said.

"...why did you bring me here?"

The bunny fell silent.

She wanted to say something, but she kept silencing herself out of fear.

After what felt like hours, she finally said it.

"A-are you... are you Zero?"

...my heart skipped a beat, the atmosphere became uneasy and the bunny slowly stepped back, expecting me to kill her. But why did she did this?

She probably expected me to be very weak, I thought. After all, I _am_ weak in this form.

"You... you can't lie to me." The bunny said, who started to shiver in fear. "Y-You are that demon, aren't you? T-That demon who... who tried to destroy everything w-with darkness, a-aren't you?"

"Y-yeah..." I nervously said. "But... but what are you going to do to me? Kill me?" I added in a sarcastic but nervous tone, hoping that would make things better.

"W-what? No! I was just confirming my guesses, that's all." The bunny said. "This is a dumb idea, isn't it?" She added under her breath. Too bad I heard it.

"Yes, it is." I said in a completely sarcastic tone. Realizing what I have done, I looked away in shock. The bunny is embarrassed. Fuck.

"Um, m-my name is Whip." The bunny introduced with fear in her tone, but she is trying to force the politeness in it.

"Z-Zero." I introduced, even though she already knew this. "How did you know anyway?" I ask.

"Well... I just... figured it out. Your scary voice is the nail of the coffin... kind of.

"As you can tell, I was kind of skeptical when you said that. However, I thought that it was just me and that you are just an innocent little guy. After all, you have Kirby on your side." Whip explained.

"But then, I saw you going out of the ruins there with a traumatized face. At first, I thought that the stories told there scared you. But, I remembered that there is speculation that it actually views you in another angle different from what was usually depicted.

"And then, to confirm my suspicions... well, I decided to tell you personally, knowing that you always tell the truth when you don't posses someone. It didn't cross my mind the possibility that you will kill me until now.

"So, uhh... yeah. As you can tell, I'm dangerously stupid." She concluded.

"...yeah. You are dumb." I said.

But before I can continue, I felt a disturbance.

My... no.

It can't be. I can't be seeing things.

He... he is already attacking Kirby.

I'm _way_ too fucking late.

**"Kirby!" **I yell, not knowing that Whip is still there.

"W-what's going on!?" Whip asked with panic.

"I have to go! Kirby's in trouble!"

"O-ok!"

And so I ran towards the ruins. Why am I so fucking stupid? If I haven't listened to Whip's stupid speech about how she's dumb as fuck, I could have-

No, no killing this time around. Not anymore.

_ Third person _

Whip stood at that place, still not moving. She stared at a recorder that Zero dropped. It seems to be a bit neglected.

Suddenly, it hit her. She _had_ to return it.

So, she picked it up and ran towards Zero.

"Wait! You dropped this!" Whip yelled as she ran, carrying the recorder.

_ To be continued... _


	30. Troubled hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends are in big trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another long chapter. Be warned!

Before the chaos unfolded, the five of them are still in the ruins.

"Is it just me or does it felt like a day has passed?" Bun wondered out loud.

Curio, heading this, looked at his watch. "Huh, you're right Tuff! A day has passed!" He said in shock.

"I want to go home..."

Eventually, there are more runes scattered around the place. Including a statue of the goddess who defeated Zero in the past.

The goddess is a human-like Adeleine, except she wore an elegant dress that reached her feet and has long hair that flowed at the back.

However, there is a mural with said goddess right next to the statue, but she is crying.

What is written there, shocked the five.

"Zero's _sister!?"_ Curio said in shock.

**"WHAT!?"** Everybody else replied, also with shock.

"H-how can that be possible!?" Fumu asked. "She doesn't even look like him!" She added.

"It seems like since they are gods, they can change their forms when they resurrect from death." Curio said with curiosity in his tone.

"Then why is she crying?" Kirby asked. "Is it because Zero is her brother?" He guessed.

"He used to be like Kirby in a way... minus the kind part." Magolor explained.

"But why?" Fumu asked. "Why can he become so evil in the first place?" She added.

"…I don't know." Magolor frowned, even if you cannot see his mouth.

However, Kirby raised his hand.

"I think I know why." He said.

But before he can continue, Dark Matter appeared!

Everybody looked at him in shock. Curio is even more shocked. Not because of his sudden appearance, but because he broke some of the murals. Magolor doesn't mind, although it's because his mind is focused on the dark creature.

"So the rumors are true!" Fumu hissed.

"How did you find us poyo!?" Kirby asked.

"It was just a hunch. I guess I was lucky this time around." Is the Dark Matter's answer.

"Why are you here!?" Fumu demanded to know.

"Simple: to kill Kirby." He answered, eyes focused at the little Fluffball.

Kirby is hesitant to fight at first, mainly because he doesn't have the Rainbow Sword with him this time. They now make the Rainbow Bridge and he doesn't want to ruin the tourist's fun time up at the Rainbow Islands.

Too bad they don't have any weapons on them. After all, no one dared to enter the ruins for obvious reasons.

So Kirby decided that he is on the task to fight, even though he knows he is going to lose.

"Poyo!" He cried as he did his battle pose.

"Ah, so you decided to fight. So then..." the Dark Matter then posed. _"Bring it on!"_

And so, the Dark Matter firstly swung his sword that Kirby dodged by jumping. Too bad that the Dark Matter knows teleportation, so he did just that and swung again from behind.

It is an unexpected move to Kirby, as he never used it at their first battle. It must have become stronger this time, he thought. Because of this, he got hit by the sword.

Luckily, he moved just enough that only his hand got a cut that isn't that deep, but still deep enough for blood to come out.

Despite this, he still hasn't given up. With the bullet stars that the dark creature left behind, he sucked them up then spat them out when said creature tried to attack him again.

While it did hit him, it didn't do anything. Not even a scratch.

"What!?" Fumu yelled in disbelief.

"Don't you see?" Dark Matter said, preparing to swing it again. "You don't have my only weakness!" He added.

Fumu tried to call the Warpstar, but nothing happened. After all, it is too far for it to hear.

And then, he swung. And swung. And swung.

It hit every single time.

It got to the point where the Fluffball doesn't have enough health left. He can't even move an inch.

"Huh, now where is that bravery you have?" The Dark Matter taunted.

The four are shocked. But before they can stop him, the Dark Matter trapped them all in an electric cage.

"W-what!?" Fumu said in disbelief. "Kirby, no!" The girl tried to push the bars, but she got electrified instead.

"Fumu!" The remaining four—that includes Kirby—looked towards the girl in horror. Sadly, that is the distraction the Dark Matter needed to kill the Fluffball once and for all.

Kirby tried to shield himself but to no avail. He is going to die, isn't he?

He thought as he closed his eyes, accepting that fact.

...but nothing happened.

He opened one eye... to see that Zero is there, blocking the Dark Matter's sword.

"What!?" This time, the Dark Matter is the one who says it in disbelief.

They pushed and pushed until Zero is the victor. Meanwhile, Whip finally came and fed Kirby a Maxim Tomato.

The dark creature's sword flew away from him, but he has one last trick up his sleeve.

"Kirby! Suck these up!" Zero said as he threw the two Crystal Crayons.

All of a sudden, the two Crystal Crayons teleported to Dark Matter!

"Not the Crystal Crayons!" Curio said in shock.

"Your friend might have saved you from death, but those crayons will be _gone!" _The Dark Matter said as he grabbed his sword and prepared to slice them. Fumu and Bun watched in confusion while Curio and Magolor watched in horror.

Suddenly, Bandana Dee and the Beanbon came back and took the crayons while riding on a Warpstar!

"Kirby, catch!" Bandana Dee yelled as he threw something: the yellow Crystal Crayon.

The Fluffball then proceed to suck it up, and copied it!

He then transformed. By first jumping up to space. Well, that's what he sees it. A wand with an orb on top hit his head, and he grabs it. However, when he grabbed it, he gets shocked, forming his hat.

But it doesn't stop there!

The power of the Crystal Crayon has been absorbed, causing his hat to grow longer, tho orb of his wand to be bigger, and finally, has a star at the front of his hat!

Bandana Dee threw the real Warpstar towards Kirby, causing it to grow big. Kirby rode the Warpstar, and off he goes.

Bandana Waddle Dee grabbed the red crayon 'colored' his spear, lighting it on fire! He then used it to distract the Dark Matter, despite it not hurting it. Well, at least it landed more than a scratch.

Lastly, the Beanbon used the green crayon, and then turned into a sword!

With Zero's knife, the four friends attacked the poor Dark Matter at the same time. Firstly, Zero slashed him to distract the creature, Bandana Dee then stabbed him with his flaming spear, the Beanbon also stabbed him with the grassy sword, then finally, Kirby summoned a giant orb of electricity, then hurled it towards the Dark Matter.

Before it hit, the Dark Matter teleported away, but luckily, the orb never caused any damage to the ruins. After all, it's just an orb of electricity.

Because Dark Matter is gone, the cage disappeared completely.

**"KIRBY!" **The four squeezed the Fluffball.

"We were worried about you!" Fumu cried.

"I thought you are gonna die!" Bun cried.

"Umm... you guys are hugging me too tight." Kirby said, suffocating. They then obeyed let go.

But then the other three hugged him this time!

"Really!? Well, I guess I needed it."

* * *

The siblings stared at the red orb that saved Kirby. For some reason, he seems familiar...

"Oh! That's Zero!" Curio yelled, but not with fear, but with excitement. "I can't believe I can see you with my own eyes!

The siblings are of course horrified. "B-but... he tried to kill us all!" Fumu said.

"Ah, don't worry," Magolor said. "He did save Kirby from being killed. After all, would he just leave him alone to die when it is his child that's going to kill him?" He added.

While the siblings still have their suspicions, they kind of accepted it.

"It _is _Kirby's idea after all." Bandana Dee said. "To befriend him, that is."

"Kirby's?" Fumu asked in disbelief. Kirby nodded.

"By the way," Zero asked. "Did you get all of the remaining Crystal Crayons?" He added.

"Nope, we just got one." is the Waddle Dee's answer.

"It turns out that NOVA is a Crystal Guardian! His Fluffball form is so cute, with those cat ears and all." The Beanbon explained, then squeed at the thought of NOVA's Fluffball form.

"Oh, that's too bad. But hey! At least we defeated Dark Matter again poyo." Kirby said.

"And learned some new stuff too." Fumu added.

Laughter filled the room, but it's not to make fun of someone. Zero already knows that. After all, he is laughing too.

It's wholesome laughing.

"Oh, um..." The bunny began, who is right next to Zero. "I need to return this to you." She said as she gave him the recorder.

"Oh... thanks Whip."

* * *

_ ??? _

The dark creature returned to his hideout, seeing his leader.

"You have failed again, but I don't mind. After all, you never expected those two motherfuckers coming here, do you?" He said.

While Dark Matter is somewhat surprised to hear 'motherfucker' in an important meeting, he nods.

"Shall we wait again?" Dark Matter asked.

"Of course. I want to learn more about the four, and how they tick."

He then saw that the dark creature is still there.

"You can leave now." He said. "No punishments this time." He added.

And so, he left.

"And eventually, _I _will be the one who will destroy Zero and this world of dreams _and_ its gods!”

Thunder stuck behind him while he laughed, revealing that he looks like a Fluffball with bird wings.

* * *

_"So we did a lot of stuff today. I learned that someone knows my identity, Kirby almost died again, and... well, we got the third Crystal Crayon._

_"Then they learned that I have a sister... I just wanted to forget about her after all of that she had done._

_"Who knows what will happen next? A visit from her?_

_"Or maybe a visit to another world..."_

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess that bit from chapter 20 is now inaccurate, huh.


	31. Birthday Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Kirby's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can’t tell, this is the Kirby anniversary special.

Right now, Kirby is going out doing his usual thing. Meanwhile, back in his house, Bandana Dee, the Beanbon, King Dedede and Meta Knight are all decorating the house. Meanwhile, the siblings and their parents decided to bring them supplies.

The Waddle Dee and the masked Fluffball are putting the party flags, and Zero gets to be the one who decided where to put it.

Meta knight used his wings to fly, while Bandana Dee used a ladder.

Well, Meta Knight is the only one who can fly, after all.

"Um... a little bit to the right." He commanded. The two moved, but apparently, it's too much. "Too much!" He shouted.

"Geez! We only moved like, one millimeter and it's too much!?" Bandana Dee complained.

"Bandana!" Meta knight yelled. "You know that he's a god, right!?"

Silence.

"Actually... you're right. He's too strict." The knight added. And so they drop down to the ground.

And well, they're right. It is fine. It's just that Zero wanted that party flag to be pixel perfect.

Meanwhile, the Beanbon is brewing a few drinks while Dedede cooks curry. Most of the latter's food is average at best, but Kirby liked it anyway. However, the Beanbon's drinks are really tasty.

"Hey Beanie, how can you make those delicious drinks?" Dedede asked.

"Um... I had been taught to make some potions when I was young, so I decided to put a little twist on that a few months ago." The Beanbon answered.

And Dedede is being flirty again. The Beanbon is horrified. Not because he's fat, but because he's bad at it. Like, really bad at it.

"Could you please stop!? The curry's boiling!" The Beanbon yelled in disgust. The last sentence caught the king's attention.

And so he rushed towards the cooking station to check on the somewhat spicy curry.

* * *

Zero decided to go find Kirby so he can be distracted a bit. He taught everyone that they had to do half-lies if they cannot think of a lie fast enough, just in case.

Of course, Kirby is there, helping an old Cappy carrying groceries to her home.

"Thanks, Kirby!"

"You're welcome!"

And so he looked for anyone else to help where he bumped into Zero.

"Oh, hey Zee-kun!" Kirby greeted.

"Hi. So how was today?" Zero asked.

"Great! Kind of busy, to be honest." Is Kirby's answer. "By the way, do you still have the green Crystal Crayon?" He then asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because Fumu and Bun wanted to check on Whispy Woods, and I don't want them to see him as a Fluffball poyo."

Zero can only say an "Oh." He just doesn't know what else to say. He then brought out the Crystal Crayon and followed Kirby.

* * *

Whispy ate the crayon and transformed back into a tree.

"Ahh... much better! I think I remember why I became a Crystal Crayon: to protect this forest." Whispy said.

"I see. Well, at least you're happy poyo!" Kirby smiled.

"Yeah. I'm kind of worried about the forest when Kirby pointed out the fact." Zero added.

Suddenly, Kirby remembered something.

"Right! My daily cake!" Kirby said. "I need to get it!" He perked up. He then grabbed Zero's invisible hands and dragged it. It does have a limit on how long those hands can go before it reaches the point where the demon gets dragged.

However, Whispy Woods stopped them with a "Wait!" They looked back with confusion.

"Happy birthday Kirby."

"Thanks!"

* * *

After eating their daily cake, they reached to houses that have creatures other than Cappies in it. Well, they heard it from the Burning Leo anyway, who's being... Tsundere—from what the demon had heard—for some reason.

"Here's the place where the Driblee lives. Don't you dare poke your face to her door." The Burning Leo growled, pointing towards a teal house made out of clay that has a water wheel. "But then, no one knows you anyway so just do it I guess." He then added, then left for some reason.

"Umm... ok." is Zero's reaction. He's kind of confused about the Leo's sudden departure, but he gets what he is saying.

Kirby decided to knock on the door and opened it. And indeed, it is a Driblee—a blue serpentine-like creature that has arms and no feet. It also has a leaf-like antenna on its head.

"Ah! Hello there, hero!" The Driblee perked up with recognition as she held Kirby's hands and jumped up and down.

"Hi! It's been a long time huh." Kirby greeted.

"I know, I know. You do remember that one adventure we had right?" The Driblee asked. "It's sooooo scary but soooo fun! Thank you so much for saving me from that corruption that made me attack you for like, no reason at all!" She added, moving around to emphasize what she is saying.

"You're welcome poyo!"

The Driblee spotted the red orb. "Oh? Who's that?" She asked.

"Um... he's just a roommate. I call him Zee-kun poyo!"

"Oh! So like, a nickname? That's soooo cool!" The Driblee said cheerfully. "Well, if he minds being called that, that is." She added, wanting to make sure.

Zero nodded.

"So Zee-kun it is!" She said. "Wait, what is his real name?"

"Umm..." the two don't know what to say about that.

"It doesn't matter." The Driblee concluded. "How about you two come to my house and talk about stuff?" She then asked.

"Uhh... sure!" Kirby nodded.

And so, they get pulled in the Driblee's house.

* * *

The three proceeded to talk about things like Kirby and his heroic antics, things that recently happened on the Driblee's side, and all of that stuff. Despite Zero being there, he never once brought up Dark Matter at all. It didn't mean that it became a topic. Again.

"I didn't know that they had a leader!" The Driblee said in shock. "I just assumed that they are, like, just a hive mind without a 'queen bee' or something. But hey! Now they're _more_ similar to bees than I thought!" She added, putting air quotes on the "queen bee" part.

"Yeah. Umm... he is completely round if I remember correctly." Zero said, trying to not give hints to his true identity.

Suddenly, the bird on the cuckoo clock came out.

"Oh my god!" The Driblee exclaimed, looking at the time. "It's almost nighttime already?" She added.

"Wow, you're right!" Kirby exclaimed. "I gotta get home!" He added as he prepares to get out with Zero followed behind.

As the two left the house however, Driblee had one last thing to say.

"Happy birthday my hero!" She yelled on top of her lungs as the two ran home.

* * *

Kirby finally reached his home which is full of decorations. However, the lights are off.

"That's strange," Kirby said, looking around. "I don't think I turned off the light today." That last part shocked Zero.

"You left the lights on!? And people say I'm evil..."

"Yep." Kirby scratched his head in embarrassment.

"What the fuck?" The demon muttered, still in disbelief.

Anyways, Kirby turned on the lights and is met with...

**"SURPRISE!"** All of his friends yelled. Of course, it is decorated with party flags of different colors, balloons that are different shades of red, and in the middle of it? A strawberry shortcake with a single unlit candle!

"We tried using the same amount of candles as your age, but it seems like twenty-eight candles are too much for it." The Beanbon explained. "So we decided to put one candle instead!" She added.

"I see. Don't worry, I don't mind poyo!" Kirby said.

"Two more years and you'll be a teenager!" Bun shouted with excitement.

"Wait, you really left the lights on?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Yeah! I'm with Zero over there, what in the actual fuck?" Dedede added. 

"Hey, I forgot to turn them off poyo!" Kirby growled in embarrassment.

Eventually, it is time to blow the cake. As the citizens of Cappy town sang the song, Kirby looked at the delicious cake. He wants to eat it, but he has to blow the candle first, then share it with others. 

After blowing out the candles, they celebrated until nighttime came.

* * *

After they all left, it was only Kirby and Zero.

"Hey, Kirby?" Zero called.

"What?"

Zero passed a bracelet. It is made out of string with a tiny ruby on it.

"Happy birthday, my friend."

"Thank you poyo!" Kirby smiled as he wore it on his right paw. "Woah, It looks good poyo! Where did you get that?" The Fluffball asked.

"Well... I kinda made it myself." Zero explained. "I asked the Driblee if she had any spare strings and gems that I can use to make one. And... well, I made it purely from memory."

"Woah." Kirby's eyes sparkled like the stars with amazement. "You're so cool!" It only made the demon blush in embarrassment. However, he shook that off after.

"You know... I'm happy. I'm happy that you're my friend." Zero confesses. "I'm happy that you have been through everything together, even when I'm down.

"At first, I thought that you can't make me happy, because it was too late for me to turn back." He continued, looking downwards. "But—" He then looked towards the Fluffball. "—You did something that I nobody dared. You made me feel better. Even when I'm down, you cheered me up. I may have tried to kill you that one time, but... it doesn't matter now.

"As long as we are together."

"Friends to the end... poyo." Kirby responded, fist-bumping him.

Well, the intention was the demon's body, but it seems like a fist bump has already happened for the Fluffball.

Suddenly, the Fluffball pulled the demon to a hug.

"Thanks, Zee-kun." The Fluffball said, gently hugging the little demon.

"You're welcome, Kirby."

Outside, Meta Knight hasn't left the two friends yet, as he heard their conversation without being noticed.

The masked Fluffball smiled under his mask, then flew away back to the castle to go to sleep.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I just can’t write all of the characters. But hey, it’s all up to imagination about what they are going to do, huh.


	32. Castle Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Demon Dream team finally decided to go to the castle.

Kirby and the Demon Dream team finally decided to go to the king's castle.

The siblings aren't invited, so they are talking with their Cappy friends about their lives at high school. And so, the four decided to go there when they have realized that Zero hasn't gone to many areas.

The four walked in the hallway. The walls are made with cream-colored bricks, statues of the king made out of stone are placed here and there and a red carpet that covers most of the floor, with no end in sight. Well, it does have an end, they just can't see it.

There are some Waddle Dees here and there, doing their jobs as they usually do. Carrying food, cleaning the carpet, walls and statues, all of that stuff.

"I remember all of the times where I get chased by Dedede poyo." Kirby said in a nostalgic tone, remembering him giggling... while running away from a jealous king Dedede, wanting him to be gone so he could get all of the attention and be liked for once.

"Didn't great king try to kill you?" Bandana Dee asked, breaking those thoughts and shocking the Beanbon.

"He did _what!?"_ The Beanbon said in defiance.

"Yeah, I remember that." Zero said. After all, he was there when the king has been freed from his control... and dormant. And everything else really.

After all, he can still see them even if he is 'dead'.

_ Flashback time _

After an epic (actually sad) battle, Kirby landed back to the castle where Dedede is on, awake, and free from the Dark Matter's control.

Every one of his animal friends—and the siblings—went and hugged him, glad that he is fine.

While everyone is hugging him, Kirby wanted to cry so hard. So hard for that someone that he had killed because there is no other choice but to, and cannot help because of his crimes.

The Fluffball was about to bawl when all of a sudden...

The king lifted his hammer, prepared to 'clobber that there Kirby' once again.

And so begins another chase scene. But this time, after some insight from Zero, Kirby had realized that maybe the king didn't like him after all...

But that's ok! Everybody can change! Right?

_ End of flashback time _

"That time, he decided to try and change him, right?" Zero clarified.

"But still!" The Beanbon began. "I can't believe that King Dedede tried to kill you!" she added.

The Fluffball shook his head. "He never really wanted to kill me. After all, deep down, he truly liked me because I was the only one that liked him, poyo."

"So... is Dedede the first mean one that Kirby befriended and changed?" Zero asked.

Bandana is the one who shook his head this time. "No. From what I've heard, it was the robot dog that he decided to call 'Smile'." he said with a sad smile. "He sounds like a fun guy... for a robot designed to kill him." he added, with the last sentence shocking the Kirby and the Beanbon. Zero? It's mild compared to the two.

"Wait, **_WHAT!?"_**

"I heard it from Fumu. She might have misremembered." he said as they reach the throne room, where the king is... trying to hammer a snail-like creature.

However, only a glimpse of the red demon got the two to immediately stop and tremble in fear and hugging each other, forgetting that Zero is in their side now.

* * *

"So you're saying that Kirby liked him so much that he became friends?" The snail—Escargon or Esgargoon or whatever—recapped. "That's a Kirby thing to do." he added.

'After all, a fucking doppelgänger of Meta Knight has been hired to Kawasaki's shop, and he used to try to kill Kirby back in the day!' He then thought. 'And he only came here because of an incident with that Jamba whatever!'

"Of _course_ it's a Kirby thing to do!" The king said, lightly hitting the snail at the back in a playful manner, then faced towards the Fluffball. "To be honest, I'm actually surprised that Zero is with you, Kirby. Even though I kinda expected it when you befriended... _those_ guys." he added, whispering the last two words to Kirby, who knew what he is talking about.

"Yeah. To be honest, I wished that I summoned Zee-kun every single time I used the Heart Rod after I summoned Marx, poyo." Kirby said with a bittersweet smile. He then sighed in sadness, remembering that the only things he can summon are those people (including his friends) and nobody else.

"But hey, at least he's here." Bandana Dee reassured. Zero let out a little meep, even though it is embarrassing for a demon to have.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Anyways," King Dedede interrupted. "Who's hungry? Because I already made lunch!" he added.

"Isn't that the Waddle Dees' job to cook?" Escargoon asked.

"At least I cooked my food." Dedede replied.

And so, they went to the dining room where they are their food with other Waddle Dees.

* * *

After they ate, the four are now back in the throne room. To make sure no one enters the room, he turned off the lights and closed the doors, with the only lights being the stage lights. It was a mechanism that has been there for over a decade.

However, the king had found no use for it anymore after the monster delivery machine is broken _and_ made public.

Anyways, the king is visibly shaking in fear, still not believing that Zero is here. However, he tries to calm himself down.

'Calm down Dedede! He ain't there to kill ya anymore!' he thought while trying to breathe slowly... and failed miserably, as he is hugging and puffing fast.

"Are you ok, sire?" Escargon asked.

"I'm _not_ ok!" Dedede suddenly yelled.

And so, he looked away and played with his toys that he brought in the room until he is calm again.

"So," the king then began. "Why are you here?" he asked politely.

Everyone in the room stared towards the little demon, eyes demanding answers.

Zero wanted to answer, but he realized that he doesn't even know why he came to the planet in the first place. If he were still his old self who wants to destroy everything he sees, he wouldn't even go there until he is powerful enough to take Kirby on.

So the little demon shook his head, letting everyone know that he has no idea why he is here.

"Hmm... from what I know, Zee-kun fell into the lake poyo." Kirby said.

"That is true." Zero said. "But what I don't know is _why_ I am here." he added, with confusion and a hint of curiosity in his eye.

"Hmm... I think it has to do with something about his recovery process!" The Beanbon theorized. "It's wh-"

"When I fell on a planet then build my nest. Yeah yeah, I get it, dumbass." Zero cut the Beanbon's explanation with a deadpanned expression. After all, he did experience it many times. "The only thing is, I choose the planet where I revive on. I usually pick planets that do not have anything to defend themselves. But what I do not get is why I picked this planet instead of someplace else." he added with a thoughtful expression.

And then, silence fills the room. Combined with the darkness with the only light being the stage lights facing towards them, a creepy aura creeps in the room.

Luckily, Bandana Waddle Dee is the one who breaks the silence.

"Umm... Maybe it's the subconscious desire of fulfilling Kirby's promise?" he theorized.

Everybody looked at the Waddle Dee as if he said something offensive. "...Did I say something wrong?" he asked in confusion.

"That... that seems likely." Zero said.

Suddenly, they heard an alarm from Kirby. It was time to go home, according to the clock inside him.

"You have a clock inside of you?" Escargoon asked.

"Kirby brought it with him so he can tell the time!" is Bandana Waddle Dee's answer. "The thing is... how can he even see the time?"

When he looked at Kirby, he wore a hat that had two golden bells on his head with a black handle that connects it. He also has a tiny steel hammer-like thing popping up. At the back are two black tails that look like two arrows. One is long, one is short. He has turned into Clock Kirby.

"When did you copied that?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Just now!" is Kirby's answer.

"...Could we just go home? There's no use for it anyway."

_ To be continued... _


	33. Bombshell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby drops a bombshell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After looking at the symptoms for child abuse, I felt like Zero is a little too trusting at the early chapters. 
> 
> Am I going to rewrite the previous chapters to make him that way?

It is nighttime, and in turn, time to sleep. Kirby is already sleeping in his bed while Zero is on his: a pet bed.

If he cried in his sleep, the acid in the blood-tears will erode the poor thing and Kirby has to buy a new one.

At this point, he wished that the Fountain of Dreams protected him from nightmares as it did.

Oh well, they're rare anyways.

He thought as he went to sleep.

_Zero's POV_

_Punch after punch, stab after stab, the villagers kept trying to kill me without reason. They held swords, spears, a lot of things._

_They are different kinds of species, and they range from child to adult. The children seem to be distraught, and I can't blame them._

_"You're an excuse for a god!" they chanted. _ _They can't stop chanting the same phrase, and they won't. _

_Wait. Is this...?_

_I feel my anger building, forgetting about the thought that I just had and the children. I am getting tired of all of this. The people won't stop tormenting me at all._

_If they don't stop chanting that I'm an excuse of a god..._

_Then so be it. _

_ 3rd person _

_He snapped. _

_The god yelled, pushing the people back with a blast despite not slamming on the ground._

_The six slots around his eye had opened, and are already leaking blood filled with acid. Zero realized this when it killed the grass below him and used it to his advantage._

_After all, the townsfolk _ _did deserve it since they did try to torment him for no reason at all._

_Realizing their mistakes, they pleaded—apologized even. However, all of them had fallen to deaf ears._

_The 'god' slammed himself to the ground, causing another shockwave._

_He discovered even more of his powers, and then used it to destroy this planet that was his so-called 'home'._

_And such, he learned that they are right to some extent. _

_He's an excuse for a god, but he isn't an excuse for a demon. _

Now that he thought about it...

Why was he there in the first place?

Zero thought as he woke up, and felt lucky that he hasn't cried at all.

Was that him when he snapped? Yeah, that's that.

Kirby was worried about him, as the demon can tell from looking at his eyes.

"Are you ok? You looked like you were about to kill me poyo!" Kirby said, worried.

"Yeah. I just got a nightmare. Or was it a dream? I can't tell." is Zero's response.

The Fluffball sighed. "At least you haven't cried poyo."

Silence filled the room, with Kirby looking a bit awkward.

"...what is it like?" he asked.

"..."

* * *

Patch land

A blue Fluffball-like creature walked around his castle. Unlike Fluffballs, he has big eyes, to the point where you can see the sclera. He also has bushy eyebrows that make him look like he's grumpy, but he is far from that. Probably.

A quirk that Patch land has is that it turns people who enter the atmosphere into yarn, and this little one is no exception. His crown is made out of felt, and his body is 'outlined' with light blue knitting string. His feet are also outlined with the same material, but it is orange instead.

Oh, did I mention that he's a prince? He is Prince Fluff, ruler of Patch Land.

He was thinking of what to do when his phone rang. He saw that Kirby is calling him.

He took the phone and called.

"Hello?" Kirby asked. "Is this Prince Fluff?"

"Yes, it is! It's been a long time since you called, Kirby." Fluff answered.

"Neat! You see... I just wanted to call you."

"Oh." Fluff said. "Well, I can't blame ya." He added, relating to that feeling. "I did too since it has been so long ever since we called."

"Yeah. I just want to go there now, but I just can't find that sock! Don't tell me Zero eroded that thing too..."

"...what do you mean?" Fluff asked, confusion in his voice.

At that point, the Fluffball realized that he said the demon's name. 'Great.' He thought. 'Now Fluff's gonna kill me.'

Oh well. Time to spill the beans.

"Well, guess what?" Kirby asked.

"What?"

"What if I told you that I befriended people that tried to kill me and others?"

"...you're joking, right?" Fluff simply said in disbelief. "Don't tell me you have befriended Yin Yarn..."

"Nope!" Kirby said, which made the yarn prince sigh in relief. "but I did befriend others!" he then added, which shocked the yarn prince.

As Kirby listed all of the evil people that he befriended, Fluff stood on the spot, paralyzed with shock.

“...and Zero!” Kirby concluded, catching his breath afterwards. It was that time where he realized that the prince is not responding. "Umm... Fluff?" He called.

"I... I can't believe this. I heard tales about evil beings who are eviler than Yin Yarn himself, but I can't believe that you befriended them too!" Fluff said in shock. "What's next, that Nightmare guy that you talked about at your birthday?" he rhetorically asked.

"That's in my bucket list." is Kirby's answer.

All went silent, and the only thing that they can hear now is Fluff breathing hardly to calm himself down. He is shocked that he befriended people who tried to kill him. Even people like Zero!

"...I'm going to end this call. I can't handle it anymore." Fluff said, still in shock as he ended it. He can't imagine Kirby walking and playing with someone famous for destroying planets to rule the galaxy.

Um, that was Nightmare he was thinking about. But Zero is even more ridiculous. But then again, it kind of makes sense for the latter.

Zero is abused by strangers that he doesn't even know. He is never loved, just dealt with straight-up abuse during his early days with mortals. He doesn’t have any parents!

In other words... it's child abuse.

Fluff is disgusted by the thought about the word itself and the people that made the demon what he is. Like, who does that?

At least the planet is gone. Not that he doesn't feel sorry for them.

Suddenly, his phone rang again. He picked it up and yep, Kirby's calling. He hesitantly answered it, fearing that he will drop another bombshell.

"By the way, what is the model of your phone again? Just asking." Kirby said.

"It's the StarPhone 11." Fluff answered with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I see. Ok, I'm just gonna cut this now, since Zee-kun has a dream problem. Have a nice day!" Kirby cheerfully said. "Oh, and uh... sorry about the shock. I... kinda forgot about that kind of reaction is... what is it again? Right, inevitable." He added remorsefully. Then the Fluffball cut the line.

After finally moving since that previous bombshell for what felt like hours, Fluff ran towards his bedroom and screamed towards his pillow to relive himself and cancel the noise.

_ To be continued... _


	34. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby... celebrates Mother's Day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Mother's Day everyone! So how was your day? 
> 
> For me... It's over for me. Timezones and stuff.

_Kirby had dealt a lot of damage to the demon. So much that it decided to rip its eye off in a bloody way that disgusts the little Fluffball._

_However, there is no time to be disgusted, he thought as he reluctantly continued on fighting._

_With the swing of the rod, heart-shaped projectiles came out of it, hitting the demon, and make it spew blood._

_He wanted to flee. He really _really _wanted to. The black ovals are now moving faster. He can't see the demon properly._

_Why didn't he want to fight?_

_It's because_ _Zero is not only a demon, its a tortured soul. No, _he _is a tortured soul._

_But if Kirby doesn't kill him quickly, Zero will just destroy this planet and move on to the next._

_Should he or should he not?_

_The Fluffball shook his head._

_There _has_ to be another way._

* * *

The day is Mother's Day. It is the day where people celebrate the times they have with their mothers.

The two siblings decided to go and meet their mother, and some other stuff.

They meet Kirby, Bandana Dee, and the Beanbon on the way to the store.

They talked about stuff, including what they are going to do next.

"Why can't we help?" the Beanbon asked.

"Well, I believe that we have to do this as I don't feel like we need your help." Fumu said. "After all, we're teenagers, close to adults! We have to be independent now." she added.

"Don't worry, dad is gonna help us too!" Bun said.

"That's nice! Good luck!" Bandana Dee said. The Fluffball poyoed, agreeing with the Waddle Dee.

"Thanks!" Bun said. "Also, cool bracelet!" He added, looking at Kirby's bracelet. In turn, the Fluffball felt thankful. After all, it was one of his best friends who made it.

And so, the siblings left the three to their own thing.

* * *

As the Bandana Dee and the Beanbon went to the castle to work, Kirby remained with Zero to discuss the 'flashback dream' that he got today. It seems like something is plaguing him to remember those traumatizing moments to scare him.

"But who would do that and why?" Kirby asked. "Could it be connected to that person who is controlling those Dark Matter poyo?"

"I don't know, but it's possible." is Zero's answer.

The Fluffball sighed in despair as he looked out to the window.

Zero realized that something is off. Kirby isn't usually like this. He could usually just try and think of things despite not being a smartass, not stare at a window with... sadness?

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, just... just thinking about my mom." is Kirby's answer.

"I see... what happened to her?"

"…"

For probably the first time, Kirby didn't answer. He seems disturbed.

"O-oh... I-I'm sorry..." the demon apologized. 

"N-no, it's ok. It's just that..." Kirby sighed. "I don't know her." He added.

This is shocking news to the little demon. Kirby didn't know his mother?

"At least you have your father, right?" Zero asked.

To his shock, Kirby shook his head. "Wait, Meta Knight isn't your father!?" Zero asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Even when we are in the same species, it doesn't mean that we're connected by blood." Kirby said.

"So... that's what you do on Mother's Day? Just... thinking why mommy is not with you?"

Kirby nodded with tears in his face.

"W-what if she... she hated me?"

"What?"

"What if she hated me and abandoned me somewhere?" Kirby yelled as he burst into tears, weeping on the floor. "What if she thinks I'm a mistake!?" He added, still weeping.

"…" Zero doesn't know what to do with this. The best thing he could do is to comfort him, but he doesn't know how.

The thing he could think of is that the gods don't have parents at all. They just... appear.

"D-don't worry. I... I don't have any parents too. N-Not that I know of."

But thinking about it...

Maybe if he had something akin to parents... maybe he won't be evil at all, and never got to suffer that much.

And so, he also wept with the Fluffball.

* * *

_ Green Grounds _

A Big Beanbon decided to look in her mailbox. It seems like she has mail.

The Big Beanbon opened it and saw that her daughter had sent her a letter.

She read it and blushed.

_"Dear mom."_

_"Happy Mother's Day. So what is going on right now? I don't have the best handwriting, not having arms and all. So I got myself a typewriter and wrote it using one. I swear if I made a mistake I will just resort to writing instead, and you know my writing skills._

_"Anyways, I have some stuff to tell you. During my travels, I finally met Kirby! And that includes his friends. Of course, we went to crazy adventures, but it's not as crazy as Kirby's._

_"If you're worried, I know. But I swear, I will be fine! After all, Kirby and his friends are on my side!"_

_"Sincerely - Beanbon."_

"Oh my, she's so brave! I think I might tear up." She said happily. "And she made some new friends too? Aww!" She added.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or do I want to make a theme song of this fanfic using Hatsune Miku, make a music video of said song which is different from the story (but still the same), and write about it?
> 
> Yeah... I'm weird.


	35. Souls, Shows, and... Sweets?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A normal day with Meta Knight. Featuring Zero who is thinking about a certain show.

In the middle of the night, Meta knight decided to go to the Fountain of Dreams for his daily check, just in case it is in trouble.

While the loss of dreams is a huge red flag that something is wrong, there might be some cases that something is amiss while the dreams are intact.

Of course, it seems to be ok. However, the knight felt like something is... off.

And so, he decided to take a closer look.

He went closer to the waters of the fountain, then inspected it. And of course, something is indeed wrong.

A tiny Dark Matter is hiding in between the cracks, slowly trying to corrupt the water. It seems to be doing a great job doing it, as the water is getting darker by the minute.

Meta Knight immediately stabbed them with his golden sword, killing them instantly and restoring the fountain to normal.

“I better be careful...” he muttered. "These guys are more powerful, having true souls..."

Suddenly, he realized that knowing the origin could come in handy.

“True... souls...”

The knight pondered throughout the way home.

* * *

_That show... that was amazing._ Zero recorded. _The action scenes are pretty fun, and the story is... something._

_According to the Waddle Dee, it's only a part of it. Now I'm interested of what's next and what I missed. _

_It seems I need to catch on. That episode that I watched is only episode 30. That is really long, and it's not even over yet._

* * *

The Demon Dream team are eating their food at the bakery when the Waddle Dee suddenly had a thought.

“You never told us how a Dark Matter obtains a true soul.” Bandana Dee said. This made Kirby and the Beanbon look towards the little demon, demanding questions.

“Oh... really?” Zero asked in confusion. “I... thought I did.”

“I would like to hear that too.” Meta Knight suddenly said.

“M-Meta Knight?” Kirby asked in shock. “What are you doing here?”

"Just looking for some odd occurrences." is the knight's answer.

Zero looked at Meta Knight's table. There seem to be a few slices of cake on it. 'Why is he buying that many cakes?' he wondered.

Meta Knight realized that the demon is staring at the cakes. He panicked so badly that sweat is forming under the mask.

"What _is_ a true soul? How can one get it?" Bandana Dee asked, making the knight sigh in relief. He didn't want anyone to know his secret!

Except he didn't even listen to the question. Why? It's not because it's a sensitive topic. It's far from one! It's because the demon is curious why the knight bought some slices of cake when from what he had heard, he is the type who rarely buys for other people.

"Umm... Zee-kun?" Kirby asked, waving his hand in front of him. This annoyed him but realized that he haven't explained stuff yet.

"You know what true souls are, do you? Well, it's pretty simple. One could realize that there is more to do." Zero explained.

"...what?" Bandana Dee asked in a confused tone. Everyone seemed to be confused too.

"Just think of it like this: you know about AIs being sentient, or... reaching singularity in that one show, right? It's... like that. They get it in various ways, but it is impossible to give them one. They have to get them by themselves."

"Ooh, AI!" Kirby said with awe.

Meta Knight is shocked about this change. He expected that the demon had already betrayed Kirby a while ago. However, it seems like he truly has changed. Changed to the point where he used pop culture to explain stuff.

Could it be because Kirby is... dumb? Yeah, that's possible.

However, Bandana Dee thought of something else.

"I... I didn't expect you to use Masked Man: One-Zero for an explanation!" Bandana Dee said in awe. "Like, that's my favorite show!" He added, eyes sparkling.

"This is the 23rd time you said it this week. Also, I only watched one episode." Zero said, clearly annoyed. This made the Waddle Dee sad, which is not his intention as he liked that show too.

Seeing that face, the demon's annoyance had disappeared completely, replaced with panic.

"H-hey! I don't hate that show, it's just you said it way too many times!" He tried to reassure in a panic but it didn't come out like that. As a result, the Waddle Dee is now crying.

"Please stop tormenting him!" Meta Knight yelled, which made everyone in the store look at him. "I mean... why did you make him cry?" He then reworded his sentence.

"I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Zero said, still panicking.

“O-oh... Ok.” The Waddle Dee finally stopped crying.

* * *

_Nighttime_

Meta Knight is eating the cakes from earlier as a midnight snack. It also included a parfait that he made for himself.

He made sure that no one is watching him eat sweets since that is considered childish or girly. Even more so when he is supposed to be stoic, and you just don't associate a stoic person with sugary sweets!

To be honest, he never confirmed nor denied that he eats sweet desserts in the middle of the night, or ever. At all. He just made up excuses like it's for Sword and Blade, who casually confirmed that yes, they like desserts.

Anyways, the knight is eating his desserts. He loves desserts. The sugary sweetness fills his tongue with—of course—delightful sweetness.

His personal favorite is blueberry. It might have been because he is the same color as one, but he didn't care. As far as he knows, it's just a coincidence.

Suddenly, something moved at the corner of his eye. Meta Knight immediately stopped eating and instead focused on looking for whatever that thing is.

Is his mind playing tricks on him? Well, that thing doesn't happen very often unless he is tired. Well, he kind of is tired so it might have been playing tricks.

Except it isn't since Zero is there.

Meta Knight awkwardly stared towards the little demon that didn't even say something upon entering the room.

"Um... hi?" Zero said.

"What are you doing here?" Meta Knight asked.

"I was just curious about all of the cakes."

"...y-you saw nothing. Just... just leave, it's already in the middle of the night for God's sake!"

"Then why do you have those cakes?" Zero asked that Meta Knight reminded as an innocent little child asking mundane questions.

"It's... it's nothing special." is Meta's answer. "As I said, could you please go home? I don't want anyone to see that I'm eating-" he immediately closed his mouth upon realizing that he was about to say that he eats cake.

"I see..." Zero remarked. "Do you like cake?" he then asked.

"...no?"

The demon stared towards the knight in the eye... menacingly. This made the knight even more worried.

Luckily, that only lasted for a bit as the demon then stared at the pile of cakes, dropping the menacing look. "Can I have one?" he then asked.

"Uhh... sure." Meta nodded.

And so, the two spent time in their room, eating cakes. It seems like Meta forgot that Zero can see everything as he 'watched' the blue Fluffball eat his parfait in delight.

He wondered why the knight is hiding the fact that he eats sweets. Could it be because Meta didn't want anyone to associate him with cuteness? That's possible.

It reminds him of that Bark person from Masked Man, which is a stupid name in his opinion. He is the deuteragonist, the secondary character. Bark is a stoic person thanks to being attacked by rogue AI during his childhood. He hates them ever since, even to the point that he hates the main character—Hopper—because he is the CEO of the company who makes those robots, despite not being responsible of the attack.

But that is not why it reminded him when seeing Meta Knight eating sweets. It's that Bark likes Hopper's jokes even though they are not funny at all in-universe and out. That kind of thing made him realize that the show is something special.

He is glad that the two don't hate each other anymore. Heck, he is a security guard for the company that Hopper owns!

Speaking of security guards...

"Aren't you supposed to be a knight? Do you have something else to do?" he asked, prompting the knight to realize that he didn't check on the fountain.

"Huh? oh, the Fountain of Dreams!" Meta yelled, then flew away from the window which luckily has no glass to shatter, much to Zero's confusion.

"When did he have wings?" he asked to himself. He then shrugged it off, then continue eating.

...which is what he is going to do if it isn't for a gut feeling as people called it. He is worried if the knight is going to be ok.

He then hopped out from the same window that Meta Knight flew from... then hit the ground face first.

"Oh... fuck."

And that is how he learned that he takes fall damage.

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know what show Masked Man is referencing?
> 
> Also, I might use it more.


	36. A Child’s Influence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meta and Zero have a conversation.

The knight and the demon ran towards a cave. They went in it to reach their destination: the Fountain of Dreams.

Meta Knight immediately checked the fountain to see if it is ok. Checking the cracks, water, all of that stuff.

Meanwhile, Zero stood there, doing nothing. it seems like something is preventing him to help the knight.

Meta knight stopped searching. “Nope, nothing wrong.” he said, removing dust from his gloves. “...Why didn't you help me?” he then looked back, realizing that the demon didn't help at all.

Zero simply looked down. “I can't.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can't. It... hurts. Dream power hurts me.”

Of course, dream power. The source of the Fountain of Dreams' power to give dreams to every inhabitant of Popstar.

“Oh... I'm sorry.” Meta Knight apologized. “I... I didn't know.”

He then sat on the basin, tired from all of the running.

“It's fine.” Zero said in a miserable tone. “It's... I'm jealous.” he added as he sat next to the knight.

Meta Knight simply tilted his head in confusion. “Jealous of... what?”

“The dreams. I'm jealous of your power to dream. Every one of you.” is Zero's answer. “What I got are just nightmares that even this fountain never filtered due to my crimes.” he added.

The knight is silent. Nightmares are things that are seen as disasters. After all, they are unnatural, ever since they are protected by the Star Rod. But someone who isn't protected by them... that's something that he hasn't heard before.

“Well, they are just memories, but I think they still count.” Zero continued. “They are traumatizing, and I believe that no child should go through that.”

The knight simply looked down, frowning. He watches as he moves his feet from side to side. He then sighed depressingly.

“Huh? What's wrong?” Zero asked.

“Nothing.”

“I see.”

They both sigh at the same time. After that, all that they can hear is the sound of the water raining down like a waterfall, except weaker. But then again, it's a fountain, not a waterfall. 

After a bit of time, Zero finally spoke.

“What do you think of Kirby?”

This made the knight speechless. “Why would you ask that?” he finally asked.

“Well... I was wondering since you seem to be fond of him.”

“Um... well, that is... a long story.”

“I see.” Zero said. “Well... while Kirby is cute, he... really changed my mind about the universe. Happiness may lead to suffering, but the reverse can be said too. I think it's... 'no pain, no gain' as they say. Kirby never told me about that, obviously. I only learned about it on the internet. But I wouldn't be finding that if he didn't tell me about it.

“After all, he was the friend that I always wanted. A friend that isn't scared of me. A friend that actually _cared_ about me. A friend that doesn't mind my company. I didn't want to be abandoned at all.”

Zero then stopped talking. He then took a deep breath, then continued.

“It took me a long time before I even decided to come out and get myself over it for once, even if everyone is asleep.” he said.

Meta Knight simply nodded. “But... why did you do it?” he then asked.

“Because I can teleport.”

“Oh... kay?”

“While I did want to kill him at that one time, Kirby helped me change my life for the better. He is basically my friend at this point, including others like Bandana Dee, that Beanbon (even though she is a wimp), Whip... a lot of people. And now, you.” Zero explained, then 'pointed' at Meta Knight.

“He changed me, and I cannot thank him enough. He gave me a second chance to get what I truly wanted, and... I owe him for that. If I never fell in that lake, or if Kirby killed me, I could have a pointless grudge against him that could last forever.

“He is my friend, and friends help each other. While we may fight from time to time, we will reconcile later like it never happened.

“In short, Kirby is my friend. my best friend. And if anything horrible happens to him, I will kill everyone in that room and then myself.”

After that, the sounds of the water flowed through their ears (?) once more as Meta Knight has been left speechless.

“...Was that supposed to be a joke?”

“Yes. It was just an exaggeration of what I actually do.” is Zero's answer. “By the way, you didn't answer my question.”

“Hmm... Kirby, huh... he is my student, so I teach him how to fight from time to time. I trained him ever since he is just a baby and can barely speak. He failed a lot and hasn't won a fight against me in a sword fight, even when I handicapped myself. However, I can tell that he has grown stronger from all of these years, and can even copy without being told to do so.” Meta Knight proudly said.

“He reminds me of the old days when I was just the same age as Kirby. Happily playing, being dumb and naive, just being a kid in general...” his tone switched from nostalgia to sorrow. “...until Nightmare Enterprises attacked.”

“N-Nightmare?” Zero said in shock. “Actually, I should have expected that by now.” he added, now deadpanning. “But still!”

“Nightmare killed all of my friends and family. I wanted to help, but I wasn't strong enough to use the Star Rod... yet, I am worthy of having Galaxia, a sword that can only be held by the ones pure enough to be held. I think all of the trauma that I experienced from the war filled my heart with corruption over time.

“But Kirby... Kirby is sort of like my son. He wants to play with me, wants me to be proud of his achievements, all of that stuff. I want him to be happy, and he wants me to be happy too.”

However, before he could continue, the two hear a scream for help.

“Meta! Zee-Kun!” It was Kirby's voice. It seems like he is distraught.

The two look back and saw a horrifying sight.

Kirby is in a cage.

And his kidnapper?

It's none other than Nightmare himself.

"Long time no see, eh?"

"How... H̢͠o͞w̷ ̨̛͘_d͏̛a͜r̀̕͞e_ ̨͘͢y̷ǫ̧̛u̢!͜?̕͠͏"̷̢

_ To be continued... _


	37. Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby gets kidnapped.

"Long time no see, eh?"

"How... H̢͠o͞w̷ ̨̛͘_d͏̛a͜r̀̕͞e_ ̨͘͢y̷ǫ̧̛u̢!͜?̕͠͏"̷̢

The demon is now filled with rage. How dare he kidnapped one of his friends!? His _first_ friend!?

"How dare I?" Nightmare said. "Because I can!"

"Why are you doing this? What are you planning!? How the _fuck_ are you _still **alive!?"**_ Meta Knight roared, eyes also filled with rage.

"Simple. I am immortal, and to rule over the world!" is the nightmare's answer.

Kirby looked helpless. After all, he held no copy ability. No Clock to wind back time, no Cutter to slice these bars (but it probably wouldn't work anyways as it is made out of dark electricity), and no one free is worthy of the Star Rod.

"Get out of here! You can't beat him in the real world!" Kirby yelled, remembering that to defeat Nightmare, you need to attack him in a dream.

"Let him go!" Zero yelled. "Or else, I'll-"

"Kill me with your dark powers? You can't hurt me with that!"

At that point, he realized that none of his attacks are effective against Nightmare. After all, he is a dark being like Zero. They can't hurt each other, only just give a bit of a sting.

Nightmare's only weakness is Dream Power or the world of dreams. However, not only Meta Knight can't use the nearest source of this power, but Zero cannot utilize it, or else he is in a world of hurt.

"Then we'll find a way!" Zero yelled.

"Oh? You still want your friend back?" Nightmare taunted.

"Of course! He's my best friend!" Zero yelled while Meta Knight nods in agreement. "He confronted me even when I thought it was too late for me to change!"

The two brought out their weapons, preparing to fight. However, what Nightmare said next shocked the two.

"Fine. I'll give Kirby back... in one condition: get the blue Crystal Crayon, and only the blue Crystal Crayon, then fight me. All by yourself." The nightmare said, pointing towards Zero.

"W-what?" Zero asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I don't feel like taking the universe recently. Maybe fighting would ignite that feeling?"

Everyone is silent. Including Kirby, who couldn't believe what he's hearing.

"THAT'S why you're doing this!? Because you're unmotivated as fuck!?" Zero yelled in anger. "Now that's fucking stupid!" He added, throwing his knife to the ground while Meta Knight simply facepalmed.

"You've got to be lying, aren't you?" Meta Knight then threatened. That made Zero lose his annoyance.

However, it didn't mean Zero thought so.

"I don't think so." He said. "I have heard and said lies throughout my destruction spree, but I don't think he is lying."

The two just stared towards the 'deity' and the Fluffball, wondering what they are going to do next.

Is Kirby going to attempt to reason with Nightmare? Or not now?

Is Nightmare going to destroy the fountain of dreams? Probably. But not now.

"I... I think I need to prepare..."

And so, they left.

* * *

_ Dedede's castle _

"So you're saying that he kidnapped Kirby just for fun?" Bandana Dee asked.

"Yes." Zero nodded. "I need the blue Crystal Crayon, or else I couldn't fight him."

"But... aren't you worried about Kirby?" The Beanbon asked. "After all, you... you trust him more than any of us, r-right? Ah, don't worry, I... I am too."

"You're... you're right."

"I'm... I'm getting worried now." Bandana Dee said. "Kirby is just... there in a cage now. All alone..." he looked down, wondering what Kirby is doing.

* * *

_ Fountain of Dreams...? _

Kirby looked around to find out that he can't see anything. Did Nightmare remove his sight? No, he doesn't think the 'deity' can do that.

Nightmare kidnapped him so he can fight someone since he doesn't feel like taking over the world. However, what if that is a lie? After all, he could be the new commander of Dark Matter that they need to defeat!

…

…It's taking long. Too long.

"Zee... kun?"

Zero hasn't arrived yet.

Maybe striking a little conversation with his kidnapper could help?

"Nightmare?" He called.

"Yes?" Nightmare answered.

"Where... am I?"

"You are not in Popstar anymore. You are in the dream realm now, and are now sleeping."

"Can I... wake up poyo?"

"No. You know that I am the nightmares, right? I could do anything in my power to traumatize you."

Kirby simply shut his mouth and said nothing else. It looks like the monster already did it.

After all, Zero isn't here. Kirby just realized that everything is dull without him.

A tear fell on his face. He missed him.

"Zee-kun... where are you?"

He didn't feel like trying to befriend Nightmare. He would probably be scarred trying anyways.

* * *

"Have you seen the Blue Crystal Crayon?"

"No, why?"

"We need that to save Kirby!"

"Wait, Kirby has been kidnapped!?"

Bandana Waddle Dee is currently talking to Magolor by telephone to look for the Crystal Crayon. He needs all of the help he needs to save the Fluffball.

"Yeah, sadly." Bandana Dee nodded. "But Zero needs it to fight Nightmare!"

The name Nightmare made the Halcandran's ear perk up.

"N-Nightmare!? But it might be a trap to destroy the crayons!" Magolor worryingly said.

"Possibly. But then again, Kirby could reason with him while we're gone, right?" Bandana Dee asked.

"No! Of course not! I don't think he has a good motive aside from being entertained! And we all know that psychopaths are incurable!"

That made the Waddle Dee silent.

"You're... you're right. We can't cure psychopaths." Bandana Dee admitted. "I don't think even the Haltmann company nor the clockwork stars can even cure that with their technology." He added.

"I'm... I'm just going to locate the crayon now."

The bandana-wearing Waddle Dee can hear some buttons being pressed. It seems like Magolor is typing on the keyboard of the Lor, trying to locate where the blue Crystal Crayon could be.

Eventually, it finally came.

"I found it!" Magolor said. "It seems to be at... Patch Land?"

"Patch Land, huh..."

"Yeah! It seems like that place is filled with... yarn, fabric... all of that stuff. And it seems like it rains beads!"

"Oh! Kirby went there before!" Bandana Dee recalled. "The portal to Patch Land should be somewhere in Kirby's house..."

Sadly, it is nighttime, so he needs to sleep.

"I guess I'm doing it tomorrow." Bandana Dee yawned.

"Yeah, I understand." Magolor also yawned.

And so, the two went to sleep. However, the Waddle Dee can't sleep. His mind is filled with worry, worry about Kirby's well being. 

'Kirby... are you ok?'

He did eventually sleep, but it was too late. He overslept.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I see some fan work depicting Zero as a collected yet menacing foe, I feel jealous. Not because I can’t write that (haven’t tried actually), but because I can’t find an opportunity to use that side of him. 
> 
> I showed his vulnerable side for too long. Way too long.


	38. A World of Yarn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero and friends go to Patch land. However, the trauma is starting to get him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I’m late! This chapter has been already been completed, but I forgot to post this here. 
> 
> At least you finally got this, huh.

"Patch Land... so that's where the next Crystal Crayon is, huh."

Bandana Dee and the Beanbon are now in Kirby's home with the Fluffball's roommate. With Kirby gone, Zero is also preparing to kick Nightmare's butt. If he has one, that is.

"Yeah. To go there, we need to find a magical sock." Bandana Dee explained.

"I see." Zero nodded.

"Then... where is it?" The Beanbon asked.

Zero just simply shrugged. Or something like that, as he has no arms.

"Then we could just search for it!" The Waddle Dee said. Immediately after that, the two rushed in the house to go look for it, making Zero spin and making him dizzy. After removing the dizziness, Zero decided to finally join.

They looked in the new drawer, under the bed, all of that stuff. However, they were worried that it's actually inside of Kirby's stomach.

Luckily, this is not the case.

"Found it!" The Waddle Dee said, raising the sock from the pile of clothes for the other two to see.

"Great! Now we can go to Patch Land!" The Beanbon said. However, Zero isn't as enthusiastic as the other two.

"What's wrong?" Bandana Dee asked.

"I… I don't want to be there."

The Waddle Dee tilted his head.

"I said I don't want to be there!" Zero repeated. "There are so many people that I don't know there! What if someone knew what I am? What if something bad happened while we're gone!?" He adds in worry with tears running to the floor.

This sudden change of character shocked the Waddle Dee and the Beanbon. Why is he so worried?

There is no time to ask questions, however. They had to comfort him, and fast!

"Aah, d-don't worry Zero! Um, w-we're uhh... going with you!" The Beanbon tried to comfort. However, thanks to her lack of experience with talking, it kind of came out as forced.

"Yeah! We will be here for you." Bandana Dee added, smile on his face. 

At least that stopped the paranoia.

The little orb simply said a weak but genuine "Thanks."

* * *

_ Patch Land _

Prince Fluff is just reading a book. It's a recipient book. 

He wanted to at least learn how to cook his food, as the food back at Popstar is mostly cooked.

Some are eaten raw (like fish in sushi), but you know the drill: the prince wants to cook for his friend.

Suddenly, as he was about to turn a page, the sock that is hanging on his wall spat out three people! A Waddle Dee, some sort of plant thing, and a red orb.

"What happened here!?" Fluff asked in shock.

"K-K-K-Kirby's kidnapped!" The Waddle Dee suddenly said.

"Kirby's been _WHAT!?" _The prince yelled in shock.

"I-I can explain!"

And so they explained.

"Oh no. So... you're looking for an artifact called a 'Crystal Crayon' to defeat him, right?" Fluff asked.

"Yeah." Bandana Dee nodded.

"So... do you know where it is?" The Beanbon asked.

Fluff just thought about it, and thought, and thought. Until he placed his hands on the table that they are sitting.

"I think I might know where it is. It is snowy so I suggest you wear something warm." Prince Fluff suggested.

"Ok!" Bandana Dee nodded.

Suddenly, the three realized something.

"Wait, when did we all become yarn!?"

As Bandana Dee said that, Zero and the Beanbon took a good look at themselves and saw that indeed, they aren't made out of flesh (and plant), they are now two-dimensional and made out of yarn! Worse, Zero's iris is now a button!

Actually, it doesn't change anything. But still!

"Oh no, not this again!" The Beanbon quavered.

"What do you mean by this again?" Zero asked.

"You... you don't know!?" Fluff yelled in denial that this orb doesn't know what's going on. "It was all over the news! All around the galaxy!" He added, shaking his hands to emphasize that fact.

"I'm sorry Fluff, but he doesn't pay attention to the news that much. And he's pretty new to Popstar so there's that." Bandana Dee explained. He then turned around to Zero. "Well, one time-"

"All of Popstar turned into yarn!" The Beanbon suddenly jumped in the conversation, panicking. "It was horrible! We can't tell which one are fakes made by Yin-Yarn or which one is my mommy or the real ones!" She added.

This is met with a mean state from Zero.

"I-I'll excuse myself." She then moved out of the way.

"Anyways, everyone turned into yarn, including Kirby!" Bandana Dee said. "Worse, Yin-Yarn is a force to be reckoned with, despite not having any plans for what to do next if he does take over Popstar with yarn!" He added.

…silence.

"Oh... But I don't see any downsides except being easier to get bur-" "He can mind control people too!" Fluff said, cutting off Zero.

"What!?" Zero said in shock. Other than him, how many people knew how to control people!?

Right, the people who learned how to do puppetry _and_ magic.

"At least Kirby defeated him." The Beanbon sighed in relief. "But why did we turn into yarn here?" She then asked.

Zero decided to answer. "I think because of the yarn based magic here, we turned into this form." He theorized.

"What are you waiting for? Are we going or no?" Fluff suddenly asked.

Suddenly they remembered.

"Right!"

* * *

They got their outfits to go to the mountain.

Bandana Waddle Dee put away his bandanna for a nice blue Pom Pom hat. Also made out of yarn!

The Beanbon got a green scarf, wrapped between her body and feet. Well, she _is_ a waddling head, after all.

Zero got a trapper hat that is a dull brown and a light grey fluff. Nothing special, except it's...

...hot.

The three fell, feeling hot.

"Um... shouldn't you wear that when we get there?" Fluff asked.

"Oh..." The three said,

And so, they packed the clothes in a suitcase, and are now ready.

However... Zero refuses to go.

"Why am I here?" He asks himself. "Can I trust this... Fluff guy?"

The Waddle Dee heard these doubts from the demon and is now worrying about his well being.

'I guess the abuse and mobbing just... got him, making it impossible to trust anyone.' He thought. 'But that doesn't explain why he trusted Kirby or any of us.

'At all.'

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real child abuse victims have difficulty trusting others. Why did I not include that distrust part at the beginning you ask? Because I didn’t research that at the time. 
> 
> Welp, now I messed up writing a child abuse victim.


	39. Snowboards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero and friends go snowboarding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7/4/2020: Added something important... but it's in a few words.
> 
> It's strange how a few words can change everything.

"We're here now." Fluff said.

The four are now in Snow Land, a place filled with snow.

The four are wearing some clothing to keep themselves warm. However, that didn't stop the wind from blowing them back.

"Ahh! This wind is too strong!" The Beanbon said, trying to fight against the wind.

"H-How are we... going to do this!?" Bandana Dee asked, also trying to fight against the wind.

However, Zero had a different idea.

"Um... we have a huge hole on our bodies now..." He pointed out.

"Oh."

And so, they walked normally as the wind passed through their two-dimensional yarn bodies.

* * *

"So... where are we going?" Bandana Dee asked as the four decided to rest in a little inn.

"At the top of that mountain." Fluff said, pointing towards a mountain at the distance.

"...is it just me or does it look like a Pom Pom hat?" Bandana Dee asked.

"I know that. I and Kirby made that after all!"

"You **WHAT!?"** The remaining three yelled upon hearing that.

"Long story." is Fluff's answer.

"...I guess that's a thing royals do..." Zero muttered under his breath. He seems to be paranoid.

The Waddle Dee and the Beanbon looked towards each other, wondering what to do.

However, it seems like Fluff knew exactly what to do.

The Fluffball-like yarn prince walked towards the little demon then asked "What's wrong?"

This—in turn—made him jump back in fear and hide behind a chair as a child would do.

"Is he... always like this?" Fluff asked the two.

They wondered what to answer. After all, while Zero is indeed a demon, he is not heartless as they found out.

However, there could be problems. What if the prince found out about him by their answers and knew him because of that?

They sighed as they realized that they had no choice but to say it.

"...no." The two hesitated, but they said it.

However, Fluff has something else to say.

"It's... it's because child abuse, right?" Fluff asked. "Yeah, I knew that too." He added, nervously holding his arm and gently rubbed it.

"W-Wait, how do you... know that?" Zero asked in confusion. He then realized that he's screwed and immediately hid, this time at the table.

"I heard it from Kirby. You seem to need help, with all of those nightmares and stuff." Fluff explained with pity in his eyes. "You... actually, I won't say it. It makes things worse than it already is." He then added, but he decided to stop himself. The prince didn't want to bring the demon into a breakdown while they are resting.

"H-How about we umm... do something else?" The Beanbon asked, wanting _someone_ to light up the mood.

"Yeah... why not uh..." Bandana Dee was about to say to go out, but he realized that what the prince had said may have soiled their relationship. "...Talk about happy stories! Yeah, that should help!" He added, all of the worry getting out of his mouth like it was never there in the first place.

"Yeah! Hmm... how about that one time where umm... Kirby decided to go on a... 'murder spree' just because someone stole his uh... piece of cake?" The Beanbon suggested.

"He... he did?" Zero asked, finally coming out from hiding. "Huh, I never heard of that. Seems interesting."

"Yeah. Kirby says that this is the most cringeworthy thing he had ever done!" Bandana Dee explained. "But hey, at least he met some friends because of that!" He added, trying to do a smile without a mouth.

They spent some time telling stories, and Fluff finally talked about that one phone call he got.

However, he left a piece of crucial information... which included that he casually said that he befriended Zero, in fear that it would make things worse.

* * *

They are now at Mt. Slide. While they are supposed to take the Metamortex and transform into a penguin-like creature with a snowboard, but it's not here.

"Huh, that's weird. Where did it go?" Fluff asked to himself. "Oh well. We could just go forward. I'll teach you the basics of what your yarn bodies do!

He taught them how to use their whips that come with their yarn bodies.

"So basically you do this," Fluff said, sprouting out his Yarn Whip. Everybody tried it, but they either got it out correctly, or it just plopped on the ground. Zero got that one.

"Why is it always me?" Zero asked to no one.

"Well, be relieved that you haven't encountered an unlucky thing ever since you met Beanie, Zero." Bandana Dee said.

"Yeah... you're right."

Eventually, they got a grasp of it, but it seemed like Zero learned to do it properly first. 

However, something distracted the little prince... while the other two still can't do it properly.

"Hey look! Snowboards!" Fluff said, pointing to the snowboards on the ground.

* * *

Since the Metamortex that is supposed to be somewhere nearby is gone, they decided to use those snowboards instead.

They four slid down the mountain, just for fun. Jumping around and falling off the board, they had a great time.

That is until they found something sparkly while still riding the snowboards. Taking a closer look, it's a Crystal Crayon—which is still made out of crystal instead of yarn... surrounded by spikes.

"Wow, bad security. There's no Crystal Guardian either!" Bandana Dee threw shade while riding the snowboard. "They could just take it by, I don't know, a helicopter!"

"No one even thought of even guarding it nor steal it. I don't think there even is a Crystal Guardian! And even if there is, I don't think they—along with everybody else—know that it exists!" Fluff explained. "I only know it existed in the first place because I explored this place."

"So what are we going to do?" The Beanbon asked. "The spikes look sharp!" She added.

And indeed they are. The spikes are cone-shaped and made out of steel. The top seems like it can pierce through you, even if you are made out of yarn.

Suddenly, Fluff came up with a plan.

"Hey, Zero! Ride this board down this hill!" Fluff yelled, pointing at the hill. "When I say jump, go jump and grab that Crystal Crayon with that whip!" He added. Zero thought about it, then nodded in determination.

"Alright!" Fluff said as Zero prepared himself. "3... 2... 1..."

**"JUMP!"**

And thus, the two jumped up high in the sky, majestically soaring to the air like dolphins jumping out of the water. The other two decided to stop right there and then, hoping this plan works, as the demon seemed like a fast learner, knowing what to do with the yarn despite lagging at first.

To be honest, it's pretty easy to learn if you think about it. The only thing stopping you is the fact that it never even happened before in your life.

Anyways, as they went closer to the crayon, the two sprouted their yarn whips at the same time, wrapping the crayon with two strings of yarn. One red and one light blue. And then, as they land at the other side of the pile of spikes, they yanked the crayon off from the snow, and to their hands. Luckily, it didn't turn into a yarn ball, since it isn't made out of yarn.

The Waddle Dee and the Beanbon cheered. They pulled it off!

"They... They did it!" The Beanbon cheered.

And thus, the two landed. The snow flying off everywhere as they did so.

"We got it!" The two yelled, raising the crayon.

Bandana Dee clapped while the Beanbon jumped up and down.

* * *

"So are you going or not?" Bandana Dee asked. "You do have things to do, right?"

"Yeah! I can't leave Kirby like this! I had to save him! He's my friend, after all!" is Fluff's answer.

"But... you won't be doing anything. Nightmare said that only Zero gets to fight him." The Beanbon pointed out.

"I... I see. But... I don't want to stay here and do nothing at all! I want to at least do _something!"_ Fluff said.

"But-" "I don't care if Zero doesn't trust me nor did many bad things! Because I care about him! He’s Kirby’s friend! The past is in the past, and friends should stick together!" The Beanbon is about to say something but is cut by Fluff.

Zero is... shocked, to say the least. Did he... know what he truly did? He shook the thought out of his mind. There is no time to do that. They had to return to Dreamland, now.

After all, whoever tries to steal his happiness that he worked for...

He _will_ take it back. Even if it seems impossible.

That is what the demon thought as the four went in the magic sock to come back to Dreamland.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kirby is crying. He can't do anything in this electric cage. Escaping it is futile.

"Zee-kun..." He called once more despite knowing that no one can hear him in this state. If only he had the mic ability...

Suddenly, he saw someone entering the cave.

It is Zero, holding his knife, prepared for a beating. Alone.

_ To be continued... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Zero will revert to his old personality... in some way.
> 
> At least I hope so.


	40. A Demon VS The Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero fights Nightmare.

Zero 'walked' to the cave where he saw an unconscious Kirby inside of an electrical cage like he has been. He is at the top of the fountain, which looks fine.

Right outside, you can see Meta Knight, watching from afar. It seems like he can't do anything except watch. After all, Nightmare is a powerful being. And he doesn't know what would happen if he disobeyed him...

It seems like he isn't here, however.

"Now where are you!?" The demon yelled. "Show yourself!" He then demanded.

After hearing that command, he appeared.

"Hello there, little demon." Nightmare said. "Still trying to save your friend, I see."

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Zero yelled.

'Yelling isn't his thing...' Nightmare thought. 'It seems that Kirby did something to him.'

"You really are different from before you met Kirby." Nightmare said, before unleashing blue star-shaped projectiles towards him. Zero jumped away from them, the stars causing an explosion.

In turn, Zero 'ran' towards Nightmare—knife already on hand—and tried to slash what should be his weak point: the swirly thingy under his cloak.

Nightmare obviously won't let that happen, as he quickly teleported to the other side! The demon has to stop because of this.

As Nightmare kept teleporting and attacking, Zero watched, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Closer... and closer...

There!

Nightmare is just a few centimeters away, attacking him by 'drilling' to him. Zero waited for this moment, so he put the power of the blue Crystal Crayon of water on the knife, jumped up high, then stabbed the vortex thing...

...except nothing happened.

The knife went through as if it's just nothing.

As a result, Zero landed on the floor, face first. The impact caused Kirby to wake up by the sudden sound.

Zero slowly stood up, but he is in shock that none of his attacks work. The blue Crystal Crayon has the water power, which doesn't even deal damage to dark beings like Nightmare. Nothing could beat it except for dream power.

How did he forget that? He should have known...

Oh. He said to bring that crayon, and only that one.

Still, he needs some form of dream power...

And it just so happens to be sitting right on top of the fountain, unharmed.

The demon ran towards the Star Rod, reaching for it while dodging more star-shaped projectiles.

The stars went all the way, but strangely, Nightmare never tried to protect it.

After dodging a lot of stars and trying to outrun Nightmare before he 'drills' him, Zero is about to reach the fountain. He jumped, reached out to the rod, and...

He immediately let go.

Its touch hurt him immensely as if he got burned. He had no choice but to let the Star Rod go. The Rod landed on the floor, and the fountain lost its dream powers.

Zero held his 'burnt' hand. The little demon wanted to give up. Meta Knight flew in without thinking and tried to take the Star Rod, but Nightmare shot him down with his star-shaped projectiles.

The knight fell to the ground, and the impact from the landing is pretty big. The 'deity' then placed him in a cage that is like Kirby's, while Kirby watched.

"Meta!" Kirby yelled, tears at his eyes.

This filled Zero with even more despair. There is no hope. Even if he tried, he can't beat this deity. Worse, he made sure no one could go in by creating a very tough barrier that only Zero could come in. Heck, Prince Fluff lobbed a _boulder_ towards it, and it didn't even leave a single scratch!

The only reason why Meta Knight is here is that the knight is already inside when it was created, to begin with.

But still... it looks bleak. The two Fluffballs are now inside of electric cages, and the blue crayon is useless. Why did Nightmare said to only bring that one?

"Giving up already?" Nightmare asked with a sinister grin. "I thought you are feared by all because of your inability to give up!" He mocked.

"That's... that's true but-" "Let me guess: it is impossible to defeat me." Nightmare added on to Zero's sentence, still in a mocking tone.

This guess made the demon shrink, but he still tries not to. It seemed like Nightmare's words are starting to get him.

"What did I expect anyway?" Nightmare then continued with that mocking tone. "You're scared that someone knows who you are that you missed the fact that Fluff knows you, and I bet those nightmares that I gave you scared you to bits. Heh, you are really just an excuse for a go-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Zero sliced his head with his knife. Of course, it didn't pop off from the body, but it hurt a bit more than the demon could with that thing.

**"̻S̰̫͌ͫ͐͌̓̽͊H͎͓̗̙̠̪U̴̙̫̹̘̟̝̹ͣ̑̄͂Ṫ̖̞͚̽̐̆ͬ̒ͣ͘ ̛̮̥̮͇̰͂Ụ̷͔͍̙̘̎̒̽̃͐ͅP̘̫͚͇̠̻̘͊ͫͤ͌ͫ̑ͮ!̧͓͈ͫ̒ͬ̂̽̾"ͮ̄͜** Zero roared in rage. "I don't even _care _about that god shit anymore!" He then slashed again. This time stronger than before.

"Z-Zee-kun!" Kirby tried to calm him down, but it seems like this trauma hasn't gone away.

The demon slashed more and more and more. He had to do anything to forget the time when he couldn't be happy.

After all, he did find his happiness. And this... nightmare is going to take it from him. And possibly kill him.

"Don't you understand what I went through!? I went through _hell!"_ Zero roared. "Don't you love it when you have been mobbed by **total**_**strangers!?"**_

In response, Nightmare flung him to the Fountain of dreams without remorse.

_**"NO!"**_ Kirby yelled, knowing what will happen next. He's weak to dream power, and Kirby cannot do anything to stop it.

"You can't even scratch me? How nice. Just proves that you are just an excuse for a god. You haven't even used your calm tone since forever!" Nightmare began to say. "I wonder why... oh, is because you're scared that Kirby might not like it?"

Kirby watched as Zero flailed in the water while Nightmare berated him even more.

He is helpless.

He failed his friend.

It's hopeless.

...what will Nightmare do now?

And better yet...

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Kirby demanded.

The 'deity' then turned his head towards the Fluffball. "Why would you need to?" is Nightmare's answer. But for some reason, it's not in his usual mocking tone. "You wouldn't understand, Fluffball."

"...Even if I don't understand, I'll... I'll try poyo."

Nightmare didn't respond. Instead, he watched Zero trying to get out of the water at the fountain.

But the pain was too much to handle. Even if it has been weakened thanks to the Star Rod being knocked off, it is going to be a while before it disappears completely and turns into normal water.

And it's not today.

Zero felt his consciousness fading away. He tries to fight it...

...But he lost in the end.

…

At this point, Nightmare stood still, not saying a word. He seemed to be... smiling. The barrier disappeared without a trace, the cages also disappeared, and everyone outside went to check if everything is alright. Nightmare is eyeing Zero's defeat that he hasn't noticed that he let people in.

What the outside group found was Zero's body in the depowered—yet still dreamy—Fountain of Dreams and Kirby running towards his body to pull it out before it gets any worse.

"S-Shall we... put the rod back?" Bandana Dee asked.

"No. Zee-kun is still there. We can't do anything about it yet!"

They all simply stared at Zero as the two Fluffballs pulled him out from the water. Luckily, he seems to be waking up.

"Are you alright?" Kirby asked.

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine." Zero said weakly.

"And... and where's Beanbon?" Kirby then added, realizing that the nurse isn't here.

"It seemed like she had more jobs. Poor her..." is Bandana Dee's answer.

As Zero eyed towards Nightmare, however, pastel-colored stars started appearing behind him. He prepared to jump, despite the pain.

"W-What's happening poyo?" Kirby asked in confusion. Nobody held the answers, however.

And then...

_ **WOOSH!** _

The demon jumped up to the air like how Hi-Jump Kirby does. the trail of pastel-colored stars never left him.

"That's... That's dream power!" Meta Knight yelled in shock, but still calm enough to not be heard by the whole town. "He's using dream power!"

Nightmare tried to stop the incoming demon, but it was too late. After all, a hit to the face is enough.

The demon landed to the ground in a somewhat uninteresting way. He isn't interested in doing elegant stuff as there is no need to. Instead, the demon king ran around in a circle at incredible speeds, trying to confuse Nightmare.

Zero kept on dodging the projectiles while spinning around while charging up the dream power. He then launched himself towards his face once more.

At that point, Nightmare is now scared.

"You think you could berate me to not fight?" Zero asked in a tone that he hasn't used ever since: calm yet sinister. "I am not your chew toy, and I _will _make sure I will never be one."

"…" Nightmare is silent, while Kirby looked towards him with curiosity and fear.

"Well, you got me there. You win. You can have your stupid Fluffballs back." Nightmare said, then vanished.

Nothing happened for a few seconds as Zero breathes heavily...

...then falls over thanks to the overuse of dream power.

"Zero!" Bandana Dee, Kirby, and Fluff yelled, trying to wake him up.

However, none of those woke him up...

_To be continued..._


	41. The Star Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby and friends celebrate the Star Festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I was late. But at this point, I don’t care anymore.

“Oh! Zee-Kun is waking up poyo!”

After the fight, Zero fell into a deep slumber. The demon has been using too much dream power that he became unconscious.

Thankfully, he isn't completely dead, simply went to a coma. It means he could wake up at any time.

And that time is now, it seems.

Zero ‘opened’ up his single eye, feeling stiff from lying down for who knows how long. He found himself inside a white room—a hospital room.

“What... happened?” Zero asked.

“Ah, Zee-kun! You're finally awake! I was worried that you won't wake up poyo!” Kirby said in relief. “And for what happened, you used too much dream power poyo.”

“How... how long did I slept?”

“Hmm... I think about a month.”

Silence.

“A... a month? That's... something,” is Zero's response.

“Yeah...”

* * *

Kirby and Zero went to the throne room to tell their friends that yes, Zero is finally awake.

They saw the Beanbon, Bandana Dee, Meta Knight and Dedede writing something on a slip of paper. 

“Hey! Zee-Kun's awake poyo!” Kirby yelled.

Bandana Dee turned towards the two. “Oh! Just in time! Tomorrow's the Star Festival!”

Zero simply tilted his 'head'. If anything, he isn't interested in festivals and stuff.

Then again, there are very weird festivals, like rolling a roll of cheese down a hill then you race after it. He heard that chaos (and pain) ensued because cheese (and that it's pretty hard).

Best part? Most of these festivals originated from a single planet: Shiver Star.

“Oh, you don't know?” Bandana Dee asked upon seeing that ‘head’ tilt. “Well, there was a legend about two lovers that are separated by the river of the heavens. This day is the only day where they meet again. And on this day, we write wishes on this tanzaku, hang it on the bamboo trees, and hope that it comes true!” He explained.

“I see. So what did you write?” Zero then took a look at the tanzaku.

“I want to be stronger!” is Bandana Dee's wish.

“I wish to make other people feel good!” is the Beanbon's wish.

“I wish that Popstar would be in peace.” is Meta Knight's wish.

“I wish to be a better king!”is King Dedede's, while Escargon's wish is "to always be with your majesty".

“I want to befriend everyone!” is Kirby's. Zero is shocked that it isn't infinite food.

“I... thought that it's infinite food.” Zero pointed out.

“He already wished for that at his first Star Festival.” Bandana Dee said. “Anyways, wanna try?” He then suggested while holding a white slip of paper.

Zero took a closer look at the things that he had been given and wondered if he can do it.

‘Can I even write?’ He thought as he held the pencil.

He tried it by writing the alphabet. It was pretty bad, but he is getting there. Everybody is disappointed, while Dedede is a little mad.

“Oh... I forgot that you haven't learned how to write.” Bandana Dee said. “Here, how about I write it for you?” He then added, taking the pencil and tanzaku.

“So what is your wish?”

* * *

The six of them went out to the bamboo tree at around the center tree and hung their tanzaku.

While there are no rules of where to put the slit of paper (except for hanging it at a branch), Zero can’t find a good spot to put it. He knows that there are no rules of where to put it, but he still can't find a good spot due to the papers being crowded.

He looked for one, until...

“Zee-Kun! Over here poyo!” Kirby waved his hand.

Zero went where Kirby was and saw that he found a big empty spot. But there is something in the middle of it...

A tanzaku that is written in an unknown language.

“I ᔑリℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᒲᔑꖌᒷ !¡ ℸ ̣ ᒲ ʖ𝙹ℸ ̣ ᒷ,” it wrote. Nobody knows who hung that, nor does anyone want to do something with that thing. It could have been a warning, for starters! The only thing they know is the “I”. It seems like this person speaks English.

...except nobody speaks English around here. And even if they did, they still don't know what was written here.

“Can you even read that, honey?”

“No, I don't speak Minecraft enchanting table!”

“I have never seen those letters before!”

“What if it's not a wish, but a warning!?”

They hear whispers from people wondering what it is saying, and worrying for the safety of their town. The Beanbon is paranoid while Meta Knight is trying to calm them down. Dedede and Escargoon meanwhile are just goofing around. Apparently, they haven’t seen that tanzaku.

The only one who can read it is Zero. He believes that everyone doesn't distrust him, so there is hopefully no worrying from the townsfolk. So, he took a look at the tanzaku and read it out loud.

“‘I want to make up with my brother’. That's what it says.” he translated.

Everyone sighed in relief as Zero looked at the slip closely, wondering if he saw those letters before.

Suddenly, he realized.

It was by his sister. The brother is him.

The little demon simply stared towards the little slip of paper, wondering why she would write that.

“Zee-Kun? How about your wish?” Kirby waved his hand in front of Zero's field of view.

“W-What? Oh, right.”

He then hung his tanzaku far away from his sister's. He doesn't want to associate himself with her anymore.

He found a spot on the other side, but it seems like his friends hung their tanzakus already at that part. Except for Kirby, that is.

“Why don't you want to hang it there, poyo?” Kirby asked.

“It's... it's personal.”

“Oh...”

And so, Zero hung his tanzaku on the bamboo branch.

“I want to be in peace,” it wrote.

Does he need to put his name here? Sadly, it seems to be yes. But he isn't worried about that.

It's about his sister.

He looked towards her tanzaku. Is she telling the truth or is she luring him to a trap that could make him very mad? Like him, she can pull out a good lie and knows how to bring you to despair.

“By the way, what is your sister like?” Kirby then asked.

Bandana Dee ran towards the two, overhearing the conversation. “Yeah! What is she like? I bet that she's great!”

“Yeah... she is... great...” for some reason, Zero can't keep a straight face, unlike other times despite being a master manipulator. He just... can't do it.

And the two realized this.

“What's wrong?” Bandana Dee asked in worry.

“I'm... I'm fine. It's just... nothing.” Zero insisted.

“Oh... I see. Well, if there's something wrong, just ask us!” Bandana Dee said.

“Poyup!” Kirby replied in agreement.

“Heh... thank you.” Zero said, smiling.

Maybe... things wouldn't be that bad after all?

_ To be continued... _


	42. Siblings and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussion of siblings ensue.

"Hey! We discovered something!" Magolor yelled, suddenly opening the door to Kirby's house.

"H-Hey! You're not supposed to go into the house without knocking!" Curio yelled.

"Oh," Magolor said, turning towards the Cappy. "Anyways, we found more things about Zero's sister!" He then added, pulling out a huge roll of paper.

Suddenly, Zero is panicking. As if he remembered something terrible. Kirby saw this and knew what it meant.

"Um... I don't think Zee-Kun likes to hear about that one." Kirby said.

"Oh... well, I'm going to put that in the Lor. Feel free to read it!" Magolor said with a smile then left.

Everyone remained silent.

Curio is just here, standing. "Something is... not right. He isn't like this!" He said as he watched Magolor go on his way, then left the house.

As he saw the two leave, Kirby is now somewhat curious. He wants to know about his sister, but he doesn't want to terrify his friend.

After all, she may not be what he thought, according to Zero's behavior, and what Curio said.

'Maybe she was a meanie, just like those people who bullied him...'

* * *

In the hallway of Dedede’s castle, Fumu and Bun are talking with their parents about typical stuff. Like make-up, high school, some problems, all of that stuff. Also, Kirby is here.

Suddenly, Zero decided to pop out and say hi.

"Oh hi Z- umm... Zee... Kun?" Bun greeted when he realized that their parents still don't know that he changed yet.

Zero is shocked about someone other than Kirby calling him that nickname. However, he kept his composure, not wanting to give a hint to their parents that something is wrong.

"Hey." He simply said.

"Oh, nice you meet you, Zee!" The father said. "I see you have been nice so far!" He added.

This compliment made the little demon blush a bit. "T-thanks." He said.

"We're going to the Starcutter!" Bun exclaimed. "I heard that Magolor found something about you." He added.

Now panic had taken over the little demon.

"What's going on!?" The mother asked.

"Bun!" Kirby yelled. "I think that discovery is scary for him!" He explained. "I don't think he wants to be reminded about that one."

"Oh."

Now they don't know if they are going to go there or not. Maybe there is a reason why he is scared.

"…"

* * *

The parents of the siblings all went home, probably to prepare them to go back to high school. It was pretty difficult seeing Kirby break down as he cannot see the siblings until next year. But then that is life.

So Bun and Zero decided to go to the Bunny Bakery. Whip is doing her job as always, but she is trying not to say something about Zero. She doesn't want to cause a huge panic after all.

"Here's your order!" Whip smiled as she gave them a slice of chocolate cake and a weird melon-shaped bread.

"What's that?" Zero asked. He did see it on the menu, but he still can't read many letters. He still can't even read Katakana (the alphabet used for loan and non-Japanese words)!

"Oh, this thing? That's melon bread! Well, it doesn't taste like melons, but this place also sells melon bread that actually tastes like melons!" Bun explained, then ate it. "I'll go for the non-melon ones, though."

The two kept on talking about stuff, having fun, and some other stuff.

"So what is it like to have a sister?" Zero asked Bun. He doesn’t why he is asking, but it must have been something about that memory. 

"Well... she is nice, I guess." is Bun's answer. "She acted like a mother towards Kirby at times. She is smart, cool, it makes me jealous!"

"I see."

"We do fight sometimes, but we do reconcile later. Although we have different views about stuff, it doesn't stop us from working together to protect this planet at all costs!

"The adults won't let us because it's dangerous, which I understand. But even with that, that won't stop us, as long as we are with Kirby!"

Bun kept on talking about his sister and stuff, which made Zero smile, but also a bit jealous.

After all, his sister is not like Fumu, even if she seemed like she is.

She is kind of the reason why he wanted everything gone in the first place...

"What's wrong?" Bun asked.

"Wha- n-nothing."

"Oh. Then how about your cake?"

* * *

Kirby is currently in the Lor Starcutter, staring towards the papers that has the information about the younger sister of his friend. He doesn't know what to do with the discovery. Should he find out about the truth? Or shall he leave it alone?

He thought as he watched Magolor doing his own thing as always: typing stuff at the monitor.

The air is tense, and Kirby felt that something isn't right. Is it because the discovery is disturbing, even for a kid?

Or is it...?

Kirby watched his behavior. He doesn't usually play games in the Lor Starcutter. Even if he did, why is he looking at the tutorials of the games that he played before?

You can answer that last one with amnesia, but it doesn't explain why he still knows everything else.

Something is _definitely _wrong.

"Hey, Magolor." Kirby called.

"Yes?" Magolor turned around his head.

"What do you think of Dark Matter?" Kirby asked.

Magolor stayed silent.

Kirby walked towards him.

"W-Well, why not read the records instead?" Now the Halcandran is sweating.

Instead of reading those records, Kirby came closer, face with skepticism. He looked closer towards Magolor, which made him sweat more, then backed off.

"Oh... Kay. Actually, why not later?" Kirby asked as he left the room. Suddenly, Magolor went and blocked the door!

"You don't want to know about Zero's sister? It might have information that could be the key to who commands Dark Matter!" He said.

So Kirby went back in... before rushing towards a different room.

"W-Wait! How about my discovery?" Magolor yelled as he picked up the papers and ran towards the Fluffball. "You don't want to see my amazing discovery? I worked so hard to find this stuff!"

Kirby kept on running, ignoring what Magolor said. He went past loads of rooms, which are mostly unchanged from the last time he visited.

Eventually, he reached a room that he was looking for: the Copy Room: A series of rooms filled with Copy Essences.

Kirby searched around the rooms with Magolor behind his trail. He doesn't know why, but he _cannot_ let Magolor catch him.

Magolor kept running and running until he lost sight of the Fluffball.

"Where are you...?" He said in a somewhat frustrated tone. He doesn't want Kirby to leave his discoveries!

He entered one room, and looked around, examining every detail. But then...

** [BONK!](https://youtu.be/NF0sMmAYpNI) **

He got hit by a hammer by Kirby. Thanks to this, he fainted—dropping the papers, then dark smoke came out from his body.

It is Dark Matter. A different one, in fact. It's in its true form: a dark blob with magenta-colored petals behind its back.

"Ack! You found me!" The magenta-petaled Dark Matter said in a frustrated tone. Its voice is feminine and sounded like a spoiled brat.

"Knew it!" Kirby muttered to himself.

_ To be continued... _


	43. A Dark Fan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kirby fights another Dark Matter blob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half the size of the usual chapter. Thanks, Author’s block!

"Knew it!" Kirby's muttered. This made the Dark Matter more angry.

"You're getting into my nerves already! All I want to do is to be with Zero, and nobody else takes him!" The magenta-petaled Dark Matter yelled in a female voice. Must have been a she.

Kirby simply held onto his hammer, preparing for the worse.

"I want to be with Zero ever since I was born! He's handsome, smart, and a great leader! I don't want anyone else to come close to him! Not even my other siblings, and _especially _you!" The Dark Matter continued. "Oh wait, you aren't Dark Matter. But you get the point! Zero belongs to nobody but _me! _And if you touch his skin for even a millisecond, I'll _kill_ you!" She then tried to zap Kirby, but he jumped away.

...Except he got hit by a second beam of electricity, losing the hammer ability and getting stunned in the process.

The Ability Star jumped around, then the Dark Matter simply zapped it to smithereens.

Kirby recovered, then ran away. He looked for something—_anything—_that could help him.

He can't find the Love-Love stick, can't use the Rainbow Sword, the Crystal from Ripple Star is at... well, Ripple Star, and it seems like that she won't listen to Zero!

Eventually he got cornered. Worse, all of these abilities are just... not suited for fighting Dark Matter.

"Hehehe, I finally got you! Now time for possession~" The Dark Matter said, then zoomed towards Kirby. Kirby simply... prayed that someone would help him.

He blocked his eyes with his arms... and looked away, trying to shield himself. He is shaking, but it's hopeless. There is nowhere to run, and nobody would know.

Luckily, his prayers are answered.

Magolor punched the Dark Matter away alongside Zero using his 'Dream Dash' as he called it. The Dark Matter is sent flying towards the wall, hitting her head upon impact.

The Dark Matter is enraged. She cannot believe what she is seeing!

"You _betrayed_ me!? Unbelievable!" She said. "If you can't beat me in a fight, then... argh!" It looked like she is mentally in pain upon that last word. If you call that a word anyways.

"Why are you still like this?" Zero asked in an annoyed tone. "I told you many _many_ times: I don't like you _one bit._ Even if I _did_ feel happiness."

"And so?"

"I _did _find my happiness, and I _still_ don't like you. The reason why you are not dead is because you’re strong."

"But... ugh, you betrayed us, so _fine!" _The Dark Matter yelled._ "_You don't like me!? And betrayed everybody else!? I'll report this to the flock!" She added. She then disappeared into dark clouds.

...silence took over the room. Kirby and Magolor are confused about what the heck just happened.

And then the Dark Matter returned to say "I will _never_ forget this, you traitor!" She then promptly disappeared again.

After that, silence took over once more.

"That was... something." Magolor broke that silence. "So... who was that?" He then asked.

"Don't mind her. She's just a... what do you call it... 'fan' of me?" Zero answered.

“I see.”

Silence.

“So... you want to know about his sis-” Magolor tried to ask Kirby, but Zero slapped him with his invisible hand.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” He threatened.

_ To be continued... _


	44. The King's missing Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Dedede lost his Crystal Crayon.

Kirby and his roommate went to Dedede's castle to check on their friends. When they went there...

Chaos ensued.

Everybody is panicking, while other people are talking to a blue Fluffball that they never met before. Strangely, King Dedede is nowhere to be found.

Fumu and Bun went towards Kirby and Zero, panting like dogs.

"Kirby! It's terrible!" Fumu yelled in panic. "Dedede's Crystal Crayon is stolen!"

"Stolen!?" Kirby and Zero yelled in shock.

"Yeah! It was quick, he didn't even realize that he's a Fluffball now!" Bun explained.

The siblings lead the two towards the king, who had indeed turned into a Fluffball.

The two stared towards the blue Fluffball wearing Dedede's hat in shock, not saying a single word.

"Uhh... that was... unexpected." Zero managed to say. The two didn't expect him to be a Crystal Guardian. At all.

"What do you mean by unexpected!?" the king roared. "This is _terrible,_ I say! _Terrible!"_

"Y-Yeah! It's terrible! The thieves must have broken it by now!" Escargoon panicked.

"But where could it be?" Kirby wondered.

As if it is a response, the magenta-petaled Dark Matter appeared out of thin air with the orange Crystal Crayon.

_"You_! So you're the one who stole my crayon _and _my handsomeness!" Dedede yelled. "I won't forgive you, you evil... _bitch!"_ He managed to say the last word with hesitation.

In response, the Dark Matter laughed it off like a spoiled brat's. "You think you can defeat me? Ha! You don't have any Crystal Crayons on you... huh?" she is immediately proven wrong as Zero pulled out the blue Crystal Crayon, held it like a bazooka, and fired a stream of water towards her.

"You... how!?"

"We heard of a Crystal Crayon thief from Whispy poyo! So we took all of the crayons we need poyo!" Kirby said without a second thought... much to Zero's dismay.

"How dare would you say that!?" Zero scolded in a quiet tone. "Now she knows that we've got more Crayons!"

"Ooh, Whispy, huh?" the Dark Matter wondered. "Well, I know where to go next! _Au revoir!" _She then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Once again, silence took over the room.

"I... I never saw a Dark Matter this... _expressive _before." A Waddle Dee pointed out. "And speaking French!" he added.

"To be honest, Dark Matter can speak all languages, so what do you expect?" another Waddle Dee pointed out. "But for her to use that like a slang? That was unexpected."

"A-And scary!" a third Waddle Dee screamed. "If they can use slang, then...!"

"C-Calm down everyone!" the king commanded. "We'll find that crayon and, uh, beat that vile creature!"

The speech made the Waddle Dees feel confident. After all, he's the king!

"Yeah! We won't let a single dark cloud scare us! They'll pay for this!" A Waddle Dee yelled.

**"YEAH!"**

"Come now, follow me!" Dedede said as he hopped towards the front line.

The doors of the castle are slowly but surely opening (by Escargoon and other Waddle Dees), and they are prepared to rush towards that one blob.

As soon as the wooden door is fully open, Dedede and the Waddle Dees rushed outside, and towards the forest right in front of them.

Soon after, the medical team came out. Just in case someone got hurt.

While this is going on, Fumu has one thing to ask:

"When did all of those Waddle Dees talk?"

"It's a loooong story." Kirby answered.

For now, they had to focus on finding that crayon.

* * *

"Oh no, where's the green Crystal Crayon?" Kirby asked in worry while Zero looks for it in his hammerspace.

"I don't know, it's just... gone!" Zero answered in a panic.

The two are following Dedede and his army as they reached the place where the Dark Matter should have been.

"Remember, that Dark Matter is the only one today!" Dedede yelled. "And don't let those Dark Matter scanners trick you! Yes, they _are_ accurate, but I say this since we have some umm... _other_ Dark Matter problems nearby." he added. "And Gooey."

"Yes sir!" the Waddle Dees with the scanning device saluted then ran.

Suddenly, an invisible force sent them all flying! The Waddle Dees screamed as they were launched from something. The ones who didn't get blasted simply looked at the place and found...

"It's her!" Kirby yelled.

**"GET HER!"**

The Waddle Dees rushed towards the Dark Matter, and she had a face that none expected.

She didn't expect this. Her face is filled with shock.

"Looks like she assumed that only you guys would come here since 'It'S PeRsoNaL.'" Bandana Dee—who is a part of this beatdown—said, the last words being said with sarcasm.

And so, they watched as the Dark Matter gets beaten up by literal Waddle Dees.

Zero expected her to fight back anytime now, and would probably do when she sees him, so he hid somewhere where no one can see him.

He then used his power to see everything and... yep, she's getting beaten up. Including Whispy Woods, who really had the green Crystal Crayon after all!

Right, he remembered that time where Kirby gave the tree that Crayon a few months ago. That coma from the incident with dream power must have messed up with his memories a bit.

Yeah... the fight is very anticlimactic. Even Fumu seemed to agree, as she did a facepalm. But then again, it's always has been like that when it comes to that particular Dark Matter. Unless she possesses someone, that is.

Except... she usually forgets that power, as demonstrated in the following paragraph.

The Dark Matter is struggling, not knowing what to do. She tried to use her electric powers, but while it did zap the Waddle Dees and sent them flying, she would get buried by other Waddle Dees.

And that is one of the many reasons why he won't fall in love with her even if he _did_ find happiness: she's stupid. Stupid for Dark Matter standards.

Oh well, at least they got the orange Crystal Crayon back.

* * *

_ ??? _

The Dark Matter is crying her heart out, knowing that she has been outsmarted by literal Waddle Dees that didn't know that Zero is here somewhere.

"What happened back there?" the leader asked.

"I have been bested by Waddle Dees! _Waddle Dees I say!" _she complained.

"But I thought Kirby's Star Bullet defeated y-" "It still doesn't change that fact that I've been bested by _Waddle Dees!" _the leader was about to point out, but the Dark Matter managed to counter, even if it was a weak one.

"Oh. Have you seen Zero?"

**"No! **Well, I did, but he wasn't there when the Waddle Dee onslaught happened!"

"Where did you saw him?" the leader asked.

"At a huge blue flying ship! It has lots of electric energy on it!" she said in a curious tone.

The leader thought about it, then suddenly, a lightbulb flickered.

"I see. I think I know where he is! Well, I'll be back!" the leader then said as he spread his sky blue wings, and flew away.

"Beat that jerk for me!" the Dark Matter yelled.

** "GALACTA KNIGHT!"**

_ To be continued... _


End file.
